A soufflé is a base enriched with egg yolks into which stiffly beaten egg whites are folded — and which, in the oven's heat, inflates to twice its ramekin volume, held aloft by nothing more than protein-trapped steam. The technique is not as fragile as mythology suggests, but it is precise: the egg whites must be beaten to the correct peak, the folding must be done with the correct motion, and the oven must be correct before the soufflé enters. These three decisions are made before service; the cooking itself is passive.
- **Egg whites to stiff but not rigid peak.** A tip that curls slightly — a wave just before breaking — is correct. Rigid, standing peaks have been over-beaten and the protein network has tightened beyond the point of expansion in the oven. Under-beaten whites produce insufficient lift. - **Folding, not stirring.** The classic fold: cut down through the centre, sweep under and around the base, fold toward you, rotate bowl a quarter turn. Each full fold is one motion. 8–10 folds for the first addition of whites (to loosen the base); 12–15 folds for the remaining whites. Stop with small white streaks still visible — over-folding deflates what the beating achieved. - **The oven must be fully preheated** to the exact temperature before the soufflé enters. Opening the oven during the first 10 minutes allows the temperature to drop sharply enough to prevent the rise from completing. - **The base.** A soufflé base can be béchamel (savoury), crème pâtissière (sweet), or a purée (spinach, cheese). Whatever the base, it must be warm enough to loosen when the whites are folded in — a cold, set base tears the whites rather than accepting them. Decisive moment: The decision to stop folding — when to consider the whites sufficiently incorporated. Small streaks of white remaining in the mixture are correct and desirable; they will fully incorporate during the oven rise. Complete homogeneity means the whites have been over-folded and the soufflé will rise lower and collapse faster.
Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques