Flour Bakery’s Intense Chocolate Brownies

There is always a debate going on between brownie lovers: fudgy or cakey?  I think Joanne Chang, the author of Flour, has the perfect answer to this question.  “If I want a piece of chocolate cake, I pull out the mixer and cake flour and make a chocolate cake.  And if fudge is what I have a hankering for,  I grab the candy thermometer and make fudge.”  So, Flour’s Intense Chocolate Brownies aim for the middle, giving you the best of both worlds.   This brownie is a perfect showcase for good chocolate, so I used Callebaut here.  The brownies should be a bit underbaked to maintain the fudgy-cakey texture or they will just be cakey, but still delicious.  So if you think you know the answer to the question…cakey? fudgy?  Give these brownies a try and I think you might agree that the correct answer is both.

Intense Chocolate Brownies:

Yield: 9 x 13 inch pan of brownies

5.5 oz (155 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2.5 oz (70 grams) bittersweet chocolate (62-70% cacao), chopped

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (1 & 3/4 sticks/200 grams) unsalted butter, melted

5 eggs

2 cups (400 grams) sugar

1 1/4 cups (175 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Position the oven rack to the middle and preheat to 325°F.  Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  (I lined it with aluminum foil with overhang  first, so I could easily remove them from the pan and cut them.)

Place the unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  Place over (not touching) barely simmering water in a saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until completely melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat, whisk in the melted butter until well combined and set aside to cool slightly.

Place the eggs in a mixer bowl and fit mixer with the whisk attachment.  On low, slowly beat in the sugar for 1 minute, or until frothy and somewhat thick.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate mixture.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Using the spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture into the egg-chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.  Do not over mix.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer with the spatula. (Batter will be thick)

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes- but start checking at about 20 minutes.  They are done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few wet crumbs on it.  If there is still liquid batter on the tester, they need more time.  If the tester comes out clean, they are cooked through and will be just cakey (not fudgy too).  Let them cool for 2 hours.  They are so moist, they need this time to firm up enough to cut.

Source:Flour:  Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe

Helpful Hints:

• I used the weight measurements in grams to make the brownies. If you own a food scale, this is really the most accurate way to bake.  I have this Oxo scale and love it!!  I had this scale for almost a year before I finally decided to use it.   For some reason I was afraid, I guess because I have baked with measuring cups my whole life.  I’m not so good with change.  But, believe it or not, it is so much easier to just pour ingredients into a bowl and weigh them, than fill up cup after cup of dry ingredients.  Especially when you double or triple a recipe.  So many times I have lost track of how many cups I put in, usually because I have kids running underfoot or asking me questions. 😀 And, it is so much more accurate, you will immediately notice a vast improvement in the quality of your baked goods!
•  Watch the brownies carefully. You want them slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven.  There should still be some wet crumbs on the toothpick.

Posted by Just Baked on December 23, 2011

https://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/flour-bakerys-intense-chocoate-brownies/