On Food and Cooking

(Barry) #1

again when it heats up again.
Most soufflés are placed directly on a rack
or baking sheet in the oven, but small
individual soufflés are often light enough that
they can be blasted halfway out of their dish
by the steam generated at the oven-hot dish
bottom, so the dish ends up half empty. A
baking pan filled with water, or individual foil
cups of water on a baking sheet, will moderate
the bottom temperature and keep a small
soufflé in its dish.
A soufflé’s appearance and consistency are
strongly affected by the oven temperature. At
temperatures above 400ºF/200ºC, the mix
rises the fastest, and the surface can brown
while the interior is still moist and creamy. At
325 to 350ºF/160 to 180ºC, the rising is more
modest, and surface browning coincides with
a firming of the interior. A slow oven may
coagulate the surfaces so gradually that the
expanding mix spills out of its dish rather
than rising vertically. Doneness can be

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