A soufflé doubles or trebles in volume in the oven. The batter contains tiny air bubbles which inflate when heated. In the addition, the water in the batter also forms bubbles as it evaporates, and pushes the batter upwards. Each bubble is encased in protein molecules which thicken at temperatures of 42˚C or more, binding the whole structures firmly together. However, it takes a little while for all the protein in the soufflé to coagulate, and the process progresses slowly, from outside in. I the oven door is opened too soon, the temperature in the air bubbles drops suddenly, and the unstable protein mixtures collapses. There is no point in quickly closing the oven door and hoping for the best, because the damage will have been done and the coagulation process will continue before the air in the bubbles has had a chance to expand again.
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