What type of dough is typically used for making traditional éclairs?

The dough used for making traditional éclairs is pâte à choux. This unique pastry dough is specifically designed to create light and airy pastries. Pâte à choux is made from a mixture of flour, water, butter, and eggs, which is cooked on the stovetop before it is piped into shapes and baked.

The combination of ingredients allows the dough to expand significantly while baking due to the steam generated from the water content, leading to the characteristic hollow center of éclairs. This property is essential for filling the pastries with cream or custard after baking, making pâte à choux the ideal choice for éclair preparation.

In contrast, other types of dough mentioned have different textures and purposes. Pâte brisée is a shortcrust pastry typically used for tarts and pies, pâte feuilletée is a puff pastry known for its flaky layers, and biscuit dough is used for making cookies or biscuits, none of which would achieve the desired results for éclairs.