Best Brownie Recipe?

[robertorex]

I wondered what would happen if I googled "Thomas Keller" + [insert food name] http://simplycooking.wordpress.com/2...lers-brownies/ he is really popular now though. a bunch of girls on my facebook are always keller this and keller that and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that, given that I'm still in the dregs of food philistinism myself.

 

[von Rothbart]

Originally Posted by lpresq

Heh, maybe I should just raise a chicken, or fly to S. America to harvest cocoa? Man, it's f'n brownies.....
Why does it sound so daunting to you? It'd have taken me no more than 30 minutes to go to a farmers market to pick up some fresh butter and eggs and then a nearby baker store for the chocolate. Shelling walnut may take a little more time and efforts but it's well worth it. It's not much more expensive than supermarket stuffs but it tastes so much better.

 

[delirium]

I need a good recipe. The past few times they did not come out chewy and fudgy.

more like chocolate cake. less eggs or maybe only use yolks?

 

[pejsek]

I use Alice Medrich's recipe which is pretty much simplicity itself. At the moment I have about 8 pounds of various brands of unsweetened chocolate lying around the house--when it rains it pours-- and get a lot of practice because my youngest son (okay, and my wife too) really loves brownies. I've tried lots of recipes over the years. This one gets the best results:

Melt 4oz unsweetened chocolate and 1 stick butter over very low heat (or in a double boiler if you don't have a burner capable of melting without cooking). When melted and combined scrape into a bowl and add 1.25 cups granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla. Stir to mix then add two whole cold eggs from the refrigerator, incorporating the first one before adding the second. Finally, add 1/2 cup flour and stir well for a minute or so. You want to raise a little of the gluten in the flour, I think. Pour into a parchment lined pan and bake at 400 for twenty minutes. That's it. If you want to add a cup of walnuts go ahead. Similarly, Recchiuti adds homemade marshmallows and small chunks of unsweetened chocolate for a stronger more complex brownie. If you use bittersweet (66% or higher) adjust the amounts to 6.5 oz chocolate, 1 cup sugar, and 7tbsp butter.

I've found the chocolate itself can make a big difference to the final result. Dagoba makes a cakey brownie while Scharffenberger turns out a crackly chewy crust. I've never been a huge fan of Scharffenberger but their unsweetened chocolate makes perhaps the best brownie--even better than the various Valrhona Grand Cru bittersweet chocolates.

Personally, I'd skip the THC brownies. I'm no pothead so my judgment may be clouded, but Cannabis-infused butter or oil seems far better suited to savory dishes. You can always eat good brownies later. Let the properties of your ingredients guide the preparation.

 

[why]

Originally Posted by delirium

I need a good recipe. The past few times they did not come out chewy and fudgy.

more like chocolate cake. less eggs or maybe only use yolks?

Less flour and only yolks. Use cake flour and don't overmix.

 

[pejsek]

Originally Posted by why

Less flour and only yolks. Use cake flour and don't overmix.

I understand the need to keep the flour at a minimum. But why would you use cake flour? And don't you need the albumen from the egg whites to get the desired texture? Baking is so much more about chemistry than other types of cooking.

I can't recall a brownie recipe that called for yolks only. Many recipes call for beating the eggs separately before adding to the chocolate, but I've found the cold whole eggs work just right. As far as mixing goes it seems the flour needs a little work to get to the chewiness everybody seems to want.

 

[delirium]

Originally Posted by why

Less flour and only yolks. Use cake flour and don't overmix.

thanks. confirms my suspicions i'll take a shot at it.
how does cake flour affect the recipe?
cake flour has less protein, so wouldn't it make it less chewy?

 

[why]

Originally Posted by pejsek

I understand the need to keep the flour at a minimum. But why would you use cake flour? And don't you need the albumen from the egg whites to get the desired texture? Baking is so much more about chemistry than other types of cooking.

There's enough protein in the egg yolks to bind brownies.

I'd use cake flour to reduce the 'breadiness' that some brownies have.

Originally Posted by delirium

thanks. confirms my suspicions i'll take a shot at it.
how does cake flour affect the recipe?
cake flour has less protein, so wouldn't it make it less chewy?

Yes, it would make it 'less chewy' compared to say, a bageutte or lasagna noodles, but you're making brownies, not bread or pasta. If the brownies have any leavening agent in them (almost all recipes have a nominal amount), the cake flour will stop them from rising too much.

I don't normally make brownies nor have I seen yours, but these are just my suggestions based on the problems you've listed. Brownies tend to range everywhere from fudge with a little flour added to dense cakes. Some call for baker's chocolate, some for cocoa powder, etc.

Personally, I think the stuff is boring and nothing more than a chocolate sugar bomb I don't eat it. Feed it to fat chicks if you want to hear them say 'decadent' and 'indulgent', which are probably some of the few multisyllabic words their bovine tongues can pronounce.

 

[pejsek]

Too much misogyny (or shall we just be generous and go ahead and call it misanthropy?) here for me.

But just a brief point of contention: most food is not inherently boring (though I might make an exception for cassava). Food becomes boring either because the conception is aesthetically flawed or the execution is inept. Many chocolate recipes do indeed turn out the chocolate sugar bombs you decry, but it doesn't have to be that way. While I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate, it is a bit of a challenge due to its propensity to become a sledgehammer. There's lots of good chocolate being made now and the trick, I think, is to make something that can highlight the good and unique qualities. This can even be done with the lowly brownie.

 

[Mr. White]

Just use the one on the Hershey's Cocoa tin. Use Hershey's not the store brand, and it's fine.

 

[why]

Originally Posted by pejsek

But just a brief point of contention: most food is not inherently boring (though I might make an exception for cassava). Food becomes boring either because the conception is aesthetically flawed or the execution is inept.

Or because its has fewer flavors than a Kit Kat.

I guess there's that slight 'texture challenge' in making brownies, but it's really the same process in bread and pastry-baking taken down to the Betty Crocker level. If someone told me their best recipe were for brownies, I'd make sure to skip their previous courses.

 

[hws]

Original recipe is of Palmer Hôtel of Chicago, I have use this recipe, is good!

When I go in Amsterdam I eat brownie with hashish in coffee shop, is also good!

 

[Sebastian_Flyte]

Thomas Keller has one in his new Ad Hoc cookbook

 

[roryben]

thread revival. Any further takers on the best proven recipe and tips on making the most monsterous, gooey bricks of cardiac-arresting brown love?

I'm not a purist - the best brownie I ever had had cherries in it. Any ideas?

 

[watsonlew]

Kosher brownies, made with matzo cake meal, eggs, and cocoa, have no leavening or oil and are ideal for Passover or anytime. They are damp and have the pleasant flavors of strawberries and chocolate chips.