Best Chocolate Brownies Ever!

[aguynamedrobert]

Chocolate Brownie Recipe:
Bittersweet chocolate 70% cacao 6.5 oz
Butter(unsalted)6 oz
Eggs 6 oz
Sugar 13-14 oz
Salt Pinch
Vanilla .25 oz
Bread Flour 5 oz
Kalua Liquor (optional) 1.25 oz

Instructions:
1) Melt the Bittersweet Chocolate and Butter together in a double boiler(see terms). Once the butter and chocolate come together take it off the heat and let cool to room temperature or at least below 90 degrees F.
2) In a bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla with a whip. Only mix until all the ingredients are combined. Do not overwhip as that will create air in the mix and will make the brownies more crumbly.
3) At this point you will pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix until the two mixtures become one.
4) Next, sift the flour and fold it into the chocolate mixture. (you can also add nuts but is not required)
Baking Instructions:
1) Grease a 6x9 inch baking dish with butter(just use a stick of butter and run it around the surface and up the sides). Then "lightly" dust the surface with flour(very lightly, You can even avoid this step if you want).
2) Bake at 325 Degrees F for about 35-45 minutes. Take a butter knife and put it in the center when you think it is done to check it...if the knife comes out mostly clean or with "baked" brownie on it it is ready to take out. If the knife is stil bringing up goo then leave it in longer.
3) Once out of the oven let the brownies cool for a while and then cut it up and dig in!
* You can also multiply this recipe to make larger batches. Just remember when picking the size of baking pan that you want these brownies to be thick. If they are too thin they won't turn out well.
* you can also try adding flavorings to this brownie mix. I like to add coffee extract or Liqueur(just a small amount) and it can make a big difference. Kalua is my favorite!!!

These are a must try for chocolate lovers out there...
Robert
www.chocolateguild.com

 

[philso]

sounds good rob. i like the kahlua option, and i'm interested to see how the bread flour affects the texture. i'll most likely up the chocolate somewhat. thanks for the recipe!

 

[shpj4]

That receipe definitely takes the prize for the Best Chocolate Brownies Ever. I love making brownies and that receipe will definitely be added to my receipe file.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[aguynamedrobert]

Yeah try it out and tell me how it comes out for you guys....the coffee liquor or extract does a great deal for the flavor in these brownies as well...

Robert
Chocolate

 

[Katie H]

I'm one of the original chocolaholics and this recipe sounds wonderful. Also addicted to brownies, so it's a double whammy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[suzyQ3]

No nuts? That's nuts. You must be one of those brownie purists.

 

[aguynamedrobert]

Haha well I'm not a nut fan for brownies....but well.....I guess you could throw in some walnuts for you brownie hippies lol....j/k but yeah throw in some nuts...

Robert
Chocolate

 

[jkath]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! chocolate browies + kahlua!

 

[philso]

Haha well I'm not a nut fan for brownies....but well.....I guess you could throw in some walnuts for you brownie hippies lol....j/k but yeah throw in some nuts...

Robert
Chocolate

jeez rob, you must be as young as you look in your pic. actually brownie hippies don't stop at just adding nuts to their brownies.

 

[philso]

by the way, just for the homecooks: rob's recipe is in ounces by weight, not measuring cup ounces. use 3 eggs.
how about the vanilla, about a tablespoon or so?

 

[aguynamedrobert]

I would say a tablespoon for this recipe...thanks for letting everyone know about the ounces...sometimes I just write this stuff and forget that people measure by volume...

Gobo- you can use coffee extract if you want...

Robert
Chocolate

 

[goboenomo]

Maybe. She's very picky. I'll see what happens.

 

[philso]

rob's brownies post mortem

well rob, you asked me to let you know how they came out, so here it is.

it's been probably 1/2 a year or so since my last batch of brownies, so your recipe got me motivated & i got right on it.

normally, i look at a recipe and automatically start "adjusting" it, but as a professioanal curtesy (lol) i started out to make it as per your recipe. force of circumstances required 1 or 2 minor changes.

the main change was that i used unsweetened chocolate, 100% cacao and, due to the sizes that broke off, ended up using a bit more than 7 oz's. i could have used about a half of a bar of bittersweet chocolate of about 70% or 80% that's laying around unfinished or substituted about 1/3 or so of chocolate chips, but i personally like a rich chocolate taste. so i used the unsweetened and,...

i went with the lower amount of sugar anyway.

the other slight change i made was to use only about 1 teaspoon or so of vanilla, making up for the other 2 teaspoons of missing liquid with an extra glug of kahlua. i thought that a whole tablespoon of vanilla might overpower the kahlua somewhat.

other than that, i followed the recipe explicitly.

the use of bread flour had me intrigued. on the one hand, there was the suggestion of a little more chewyness but, on the other hand, since i wasn't going to be beating the batter, i didn't actually expect that too much gluten would be worked up. actually, i folded in the flour a little more thoroughly than i usually do, until there were no traces of small lumps of flour.

the results:
as i kind of expected, it was difficult to tell if the bread flour made any difference in the texture, although to be fair i didn't make a comparison test with the recipe using a.p flour.
also, the kahlua had me excited, but i have to say that the taste was rather subdued. this could have been partially caused by my using unsweetened chocolate as not called for in the recipe.

these brownies are nice and moist; the texture rather on the "cakey" side of the brownie spectrum. the chocolatiness was exactly what i wanted.

the verdict:
great brownies.

for those who prefer a more cake-like brownie, rob's title of Best Chocolate Brownies Ever! may well be justified.

for those like me who prefer a chewier brownie, i think that an extra egg and another 1 or 2 ounces of chocolate will make it perfect for us.

i'll be adding this recipe to my professional notebook (even though i'm no longer in the trade, you can never tell about the future), so rob ...

what should i be calling these; "rob's brownies" or "aguynamedrobert's brownies"???

by the way, i hate diddleing around with math, so if you have a large volume recipe at hand, i wouldn't mind having that as well. maybe i can dig something out my my notebook you might like in return.

non-related addenda for rob:

i've been wondering about the baking soda/sugar thing in the peanut brittle from that other post, so while the brownies were in the oven, i went ahead and experimented a bit. i made a half glass of simple syrup and added about 1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon of soda to it. i stand corrected. white sugar apparently does have some acidic minerals left in it to react with the soda. however, the action is very gentle, almost barely noticable. tasting it, it left a very unpleasant bitter aftertaste in my mouth for quite a long time (even after about 2 shots or so of kahlua). the fizzing action being so little, i think that the main reason for it being in the recipe is the taste. at the ratio i used, it was pretty yukky, but, like bitters in a drink, the right amount probably provides a nice balance to the sweetness of the brittle, maybe akin to quinine in tonic water. just thought i'd pass this along, too.

 

[Gretchen]

Thanks for the egg amount. And I find it interesting that this uses bread flour which I think will make a "heavier" product, although there isn't that much beating to develop gluten. Why use bread flour?
Looks VERY good.

 

[philso]

update on post mortem

yeah, i need to amend what i said above. i jumped the gun on this one. i had had a couple of brownies while they were still somewhat warm, less than 1/2 hour out of the oven. they seemed to have a rather cakelike fragility at that point. going back home after writing the critique, they had cooled completely and become more chewy. so, while real chocoholics might want to go with unsweetened chocolate, and another ounce or two wouldn't hurt, i don't think they really need an extra egg at all. just give them a chance to sit before you dig in. very nice product

 

[aguynamedrobert]

Hello Hello,
Hey thanks for tryin the recipe...yeah these brownies are definitely something different from the normal...when they first come out they are kind of fragile...did you also find that the top got a hard crust? the changes you made might have set this a little differeent but on mine the top crusts and we all pick off the top to munch on and then eat the brownies underneath...
Bread flour is used because their is not much flour in this recipe...it is used to give more of that gluten to a recipe that doesn't have much in the form of "structure" ingredients besides the egg...usually their is more flour so that it will be lighter and more cake like...but these brownies were made to be fudgy...
And yes...if you wait for these brownies to cool then they are going to hold together far better and be better to eat...

Whenever you are ready then send a recipe my way....Have a good one
Robert
Chocolate

 

[aguynamedrobert]

The Kalua is always a lower note....more to enhance the chocolate...I usually use the full 1.25 ounces kalua so it stands out just slightly...

Hey Philso....what is your background in the Culinary Arts?

Robert
Chocolate

 

[philso]

Hey Philso....what is your background in the Culinary Arts?

Robert
Chocolate

didn't get a pm 'bout a week ago or so? maybe i deleted it instead of sending it? if you didn't get it let me know, but if i don't have to retype it, so much the better.

ever hear of boccone dolce? pretty simple actually, but not too common.

and oh yeah, i'll be putting this recipe in my little notebook so what's it gonna be, "rob's brownies" or "aguynamedrobert's brownies". your pick

 

[mudbug]

jeez rob, you must be as young as you look in your pic. actually brownie hippies don't stop at just adding nuts to their brownies.

now that's something I hadn't thought of in quite a long while. do people still do this?

 

[goboenomo]

Yes... people... not sure about hippies still do. My friends at work talk about it all the time.

Speaking of work... I'm off to work.
Peace