Rollin' in the dough: Pastry chef David Guas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Sift the two flours together onto a piece of parchment paper and reserve.

In a 4-quart saucepot, bring the water, butter, and salt to a full boil.  In thirds, slowly add the flours into the boiling water, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon to avoid lumps.  Cook the dough, moving it around looking for pockets of dry flour and mashing them up to make sure the dough is smooth, until the dough forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pot, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the dough ball into a bowl of an electric mixer.  Using the paddle attachment at low speed, mix in the eggs, one at a time, until the dough is smooth.  Add as many eggs as the paste can absorb and still hold its shape when it is piped.

Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip.  Pipe the dough into small quarter sized balls onto prepared pan.  Note: pipe a little dough into the corners of the pan to prevent the paper from flapping around in the oven.  Bake the dough in preheated 425-degree oven until puffy and starting to show some color, approximately 10 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake about 10-12 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and allow them to cool at room temperature.

Once cool, you may cut the top off each puff and fill with a small scoop of ice cream, returning the top and holding in the freezer wrapped.  You may also, using a small plain pastry tip, pipe some pastry cream (see below) into the bottoms of the puffs and hold them in the refrigerator wrapped until ready to serve for about 1 day, although they are best when eaten within a few hours of filling them.  Another idea is fill them with a savory pâté or mousse (e.g., foie gras or salmon).

Combine flour, butter, sugar, almond flour, salt, and pepper in food processor.  Process for 12 seconds, until the mixture has a dry, crumbly texture resembling coarse cornmeal.  Add the eggs to the mixture in the food processor and pulse 14 times, just until the dough begins to hold together in a mass and just before it turns into a ball.  If it seems too sticky, the dough may require the addition of another 1-2 tablespoons of flour; pulse the dough again after this addition.

Remove the dough from the bowl of the food processor.  Work it into a ball using your hands and then flatten the dough into a disc.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Prepare a 10.5-inch tart with a removable bottom by buttering the bottom and sides of the pan.

On a floured work surface, roll the chilled dough out to a thickness of one-eighth inch.  Place the prepared tart pan upside down onto the dough.  Using a paring knife, cut the dough around the pan, leaving a 1.5-inch border around the pan.  Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan and smooth the edges along the top.  Place the pan on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.