The By-Gone Days of the Box

Fudgy? Chew? Let's not put labels on things, shall we?

When I was a kid, brownies came from a box.

And they were magic. Pour powder in bowl, add eggs, oil, and water. Pour into a pan, and bake. Voila.

It wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized that I could make brownies from scratch. Somehow I'm pretty sure my mother would have preferred that I did not have such an epiphany. You see, mess was not her thing... still isn't. The box and the one bowl method were just enough mess to be tolerable. Plus, she didn't eat brownies anyway.

Cut to my own kitchen, where even though I hate doing dishes, I'll use them if necessary. (This isn't to say I might not shortcut and combine dishes, but I digress.) I bake by intuition, which can sometimes be problematic, but generally works out fine. I'm famous for saying, "Do it til it looks right." Whatever that means. I like to play; I like to identify the chemical reactions that cause the effects I see; I'm a food nerd. But I'm okay with it.

When I decide to make something new, I'll browse recipes for what I want to make, or something similar to it. Then, I'll morph them all into one, and change that too on the way. Case in point, I decided to make brownies. From scratch. I have other recipes, but I took out a few cookbooks from the library, so I figured I'd consult and see the opinions of Dorie Greenspan, Sherry Yard, Nick Malgieri, and Harold McGee (okay he was just for chemical input). Nothing struck me, so I went rogue. Note: These are deep intense brownies... primarily fudgy, but with a slight chew from the bread flour. If you like cakey, move on. You'll thank me later.

Fudgy Chewy Brownies... ish

8 oz semisweet chocolate, divded
4 oz unsalted butter
2-3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder... probably 3, but like I said, I'm not very good with measuring
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar, maybe a little less
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed... i pack pretty tightly... just saying
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp bread flour
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp sea salt... ish
Fleur de Sel

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 in square pan (I use silicone) with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. Put butter in microwave safe bowl, and half melt for like 30 seconds. Add 7 oz of the chocolate to the bowl and nuke again for 30-45 seconds, depending upon strength of microwave... basically, until you'll be able to stir it smooth.
3. Add cocoa powder, and whisk the butter, chocolate, and powder til smooth. No need to whisk too hard. Avoid aeration.
4. Combine flours with salt in a separate bowl.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking til smooth, but avoid whisking too much to avoid that aeration.
6. Whisk in the sugars... it'll be a bit grainy looking. 
7. Stir in the vanilla.
8. Stir in the flour/salt. Mix in the last 1 oz of semisweet chocolate (if it isn't already broken up, crush it first).
9. Pour into pan, and smooth to the edges. It will be thick and quite viscous. Sprinkle the top with just a bit of fleur de sel.
10. Bake for 28-30 minutes... the top will be crackly, the inside moist. Definitely don't overbake. Cool a bit, then refrigerate before cutting. 

 Literally, it takes 10 minutes to mix up. 30 to bake. And the results are soooo much better than the box (not that I don't have respect for the box, as that's where it all began). But, if you haven't made homemade brownies from scratch at least once, you're missing out.  Have the experience.