Procedure

• The first step in cooking a good potato soufflé is to cook the potatoes. Take a large pot, cover them completely with salted water, and cook for at least 20-30 minutes.

  The time varies depending on the size of the potatoes. When they are cooked, peel them while still hot; your fingers won’t be happy, but the procedure is much easier and quicker!

• After peeling the potatoes, preheat the oven to 375°F in static mode. It is VERY important not to use a convection oven, or the soufflés will collapse, which is really annoying!

• Take butter or olive oil and thoroughly coat the soufflé molds from top to bottom, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs to coat the entire mold.

  The molds should be ceramic and cylindrical in shape; otherwise, the batter remains wet and will deflate as soon as you take it out of the oven.

  

• Melt the butter in a pan or pot, then add the flour without forming lumps (you can use a sieve or sprinkle it with a spoon or fork, or continuously stir with a whisk).

  The base for preparing soufflés is very similar; you’re basically preparing what chefs call Roux, which is simply a sauce made of butter and flour, used in many kitchen preparations (béchamel primarily).

  

• Once the flour is added to the butter, brown over medium to medium-low heat for 5 minutes so it cooks without burning.

  Remove the Roux from heat and add the finely mashed potatoes with a fork/spoon (or a potato masher if you have one).

  Cook together by adding 1/3 cup of cream; in the end, you’ll have a mixture similar to mashed potatoes.

  

• Take 4 egg yolks and add them to the mixture you’ve prepared, taste, and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the dough well so all ingredients are well combined.

  

• At this point, take 2 egg whites (I recommend 2 instead of 4 for taste and texture reasons) and beat them until very stiff. I’ve read in some cookbooks to leave the egg whites slightly liquid, but I don’t recommend it.

  The salted egg white should be beaten until very stiff (if you turn the bowl upside down and it doesn’t fall, it’s perfect!).

  

• Incorporate the egg white into the prepared mixture without deflating it: use a wooden spoon and mix from top to bottom, incorporating air.

  Mix the ingredients well and pour them into the molds up to the brim, ensuring you have 4 molds filled evenly.

  Bake the molds in the preheated static oven, and wait with bated breath for at least 25 minutes.

  

• Here’s what not to do:

  Do not open the oven for any reason, it is the enemy. Wait until 25 minutes have passed and check if the soufflé has risen well.

  To know if it’s ready, the batter should be golden brown on the outside and dry (like a well-cooked omelette).

  

• When 25 minutes have passed and it seems dry, turn off the oven but do not open it. Wait at least 3-4 minutes with the oven closed.

  Open the oven slowly and let the soufflé acclimate, as drafts might cause it to collapse. At this point, it should still be firm as it was in the oven, and the final result should be like this.

  Your potato soufflé is ready!