Funny how things stick in our minds. A recollection from my early teen years during the President Kennedy era, was the story of how the White House chefs fretted over the timely serving of delicate souffles fresh from the oven.  

Souffles were on the menu for the President and his important world leader guest that day. The trouble was, there was uncertainty about when the President and his guest would exit their talks and arrive to the dining area for their luncheon souffles. 

Souffles need to be served at the peak of perfection and puffiness straight from the oven – lest they deflate. Oh, horrors! 

So, the story was told that the chefs created several rounds of souffles to come out of the oven every few minutes so the best-of-the-best could be served when the distinguished diners arrived.  

This magazine article colored my thinking about souffles from then on.  

• Precise timing.  
  • Ingredients just so.  
    • Risk of deflation.  
      • Nervous French chefs.  
        • Pressure.  
          • Egads! … Souffles! 

I may have majored in the French language, but that kind of haute cuisine and exactitude seemed out of my league. I’ll take fluffy scrambled eggs. 

Until … Panera Bread and their breakfast souffles. 

Now, I don’t normally do gluten – but while in the throes of packing and moving last year, I stopped off at the local Panera Bread and ordered one of their souffles. Total indulgence for weary nerves. 

What was this cloud of fluffy egginess surrounded by … what was that?… A delicate pastry? I’ll never forget my happiness. I almost cried. 

Occasionally – post move and with calm nerves – we will order these souffles.  

Could I create something even close? With a smaller bread factor – or Gluten-free? 

Souffles are baked without crusts at all; but with my Panera Bread experience, the ‘En Croute’ method had won me over – meaning it was encased in pastry and is pronounced [on-KROOT]. 

I’m still experimenting with techniques and combinations – and, beware – you would benefit from a sous chef to help with prep and clean up!  

Today, I created four servings of souffle – two En Croute, and two traditional – all with no fancy souffle dishes – don’t tell the Cordon Bleu! 

For the light pastry wrapping, I used two sheets of phyllo dough/wrappers, with a layer of brushed melted butter gluing them together. Phyllo sheets are available in the frozen section of most grocery stores. Gluten, yes, if you can handle it. I’m still not expert in handling phyllo sheets, and they will dry out if prepped too early.  Sous chef – please! 

I prep the phyllo on a sheet of wax or parchment paper, and then transfer the sheets to the baking dishes, where I will gently press them to the bottom and sides. This leaves the extra to fold to the top when the souffle batter is placed inside. 

Souffles come with all kinds of added ingredients. Cheeses, bacon, artichoke hearts, fresh herbs – it’s all up to the preparer. Today, I used fresh grated Parmesan, cheddar, and Swiss cheese along with some cooked asparagus, cooked bacon, and fresh thyme, because they were on hand. 

If you are preparing this by yourself, especially, make sure to lay out and prep all ingredients before cooking and mixing things. Forget preheating the oven at the beginning. I don’t take that step until things start to come together about midway in the process. 

Gathering all ingredients and doing the small, advanced prep is called: Mise en place, [mi z ahn plas] and is key to not become frazzled when cooking. Every time I jump to cooking without the advanced prep steps – grabbing things as I go – I am reminded why it’s so important.  

Mise en place, everyone! 

The baking dishes I used allow for individual servings – a la Panera Bread – and consisted of two 6” glass pie pans for the En Croute/phyllo version, and two glass food storage containers for the plain. Certainly, the straight-sided, white souffle dish is traditional. 

On to the Cheese Souffle recipe Sheree has prepared for easy downloading and printing. 

I hope you will try this recipe. Let me know how it went and what special ingredients you used. As always, sharing options for this post are under the MORE button below. 

Bon Appetit!  

In health –  

Deidre