Brownies

Brownies were the very first thing I learned to bake, when I was 10 or 11 years old.  Because I was impatient, I immediately modified my mother's recipe by melting the butter and chocolate squares together.  They turned out gooey and chewy, so I just kept doing it that way.  Later on, I got lazier, and relied on my good friend, Betty Crocker, especially when she started including things like packets of Hershey syrup in the mix.  My kids didn't like nuts in theirs, so I usually made them without.

Over the years I have tried lots of different brownie recipes.  One that I favored for a while had Grand Marnier in it, so they tasted of orange.  Another had browned butter in it, but I couldn't really taste the browned butter by the time the chocolate was added, so it seemed like a wasted effort.  I kept looking for that perfect brownie.

Last Christmas, my daughter-in-law, Cindy, gave me Nancy Silverton's new cookbook, Mozza.   I started trying her wonderful recipes, especially her pizzas.  So when Steve and I went to Santa Monica in May, we visited Mozza Restaurant, which had so many wonderful things it was hard to choose.  (We highly recommend a pilgrimage there if you go to L.A.  We went at lunch time, when it isn't so crowded).  I knew that Nancy Silverton had been considered one of the best pastry chefs in the country, and I found out that there was an outlet of the La Brea Bakery at LAX.  So when we were on our way home, we picked up sandwiches, and some desserts.  Somewhere over the middle of the country, I bit into THE VERY BEST BROWNIE I had ever tasted.  It had the wonderful brownie crust on top, but the middle was like chocolate fudge, with crisp toasty walnuts.  As soon as I got home I searched the internet and found the recipe, and ordered a copy of her out-of-print La Brea Bakery cookbook.  I've made the brownies many times since then, and the recipe that follows is hers.  However, I am adding the things I've learned about baking them, and some variations.

Your first challenge is to find an 11x17x1-inch jelly roll pan.  I happened to have about a 40 year old one residing in my pantry, but it was pretty tired looking.  When I looked on the internet for a new one I couldn't find one that size.  The closest I have been able to find was at Sur La Table, a Chicago Metallic Commercial II half sheet pan, which is 12x17x1-inch.  I also bought a 10x15x1-inch pan at Williams Sonoma.  You'll see why in a moment.

CLASSIC LA BREA BAKERY BROWNIES 

3 cups (12 oz) walnut halves
3 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (the best you can find)
3 1/2 cups (1 lb, 9 1/8 oz) superfine sugar
6 extra large eggs
1 Tablespoon double vanilla
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (or fleur de sel*)
3 1/4 cups (12 3/4 oz) unbleached pastry flour or AP flour

*fleur de sel is the premium sea salt from certain areas in France.  I buy mine when I'm there or at Williams Sonoma

Here's your mise en place:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.  Shake pan halfway through baking to ensure the nuts toast evenly.  Use the smell test, which is basically that when you can smell walnuts, they're probably done.  They should look lightly brown.  Cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Brush the 11x17x1-inch jelly roll pan with melted butter.

If you have a double boiler, you can use it.  I find that having a bowl with a handle (like my mixing bowl) is easier, so I just put it over a saucepan.

 Put about an inch of water in the saucepan, and heat it to boiling over medium high heat, then immediately turn it to low.  Cut the butter into chunks, and put it in the bowl first, then the chocolate, also cut up into chunks.  As you may know, chocolate may seize up while melting, but when it has butter in with it, that is much less likely.  I put the butter in first, so it will melt underneath the chocolate, which further insures even melting.  It should look like this:

Once it starts to melt, start to whisk.

Continue whisking until the chocolate has just melted.

Immediately transfer it to a kitchen towel on the counter (to be sure none of the condensation on the bowl gets into the chocolate--a guarantee that it'll seize up), and let it cool while you make the brownie batter.

Sift flour into a medium-sized bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, put the six eggs,

sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.  Beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high until thick and mousse-like, 5 minutes.

See how light and fluffy it gets?

Now add the flour in 3 batches, turning the mixer off before each addition and mixing on low speed until combined.  You will lose a little volume in the eggs, but it should still be pretty fluffy.

Remove bowl from mixer, and with a rubber spatula fold in melted chocolate mixture until the batter is uniform in color.  Think of this batter as like a mousse.  You don't want to deflate the eggs by stirring, rather you want to use the spatula to gently scrape from the bottom (where all of the chocolate will go anyway) up around the sides.  It's a gentle lifting and then circling the bowl.

Continue folding until the color is uniform,

then gently fold in the walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared jelly-roll pan; spread to an even thickness.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the brownies are puffed and not quite firm to the touch.  The first time I made them I was worried that they would overflow the pan, since they came right up to the top, so I put a baking sheet under them.  Then I discovered that, like a soufflé, they rose straight up and they didn't drip at all.

A toothpick inserted into the center should come up with sticky batter on it.  It should look like the one on the left not the one on the right.

Place them on a rack to cool completely.  The center will fall and they'll look like this:

When they are completely cool (which will take several hours), cover them completely with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator until the next day.  Yes, you will have to resist the tantalizing aroma and WAIT!  The first time I made them we ate them that same day, and we all thought they were okay.  Then I cut them and put them in the freezer drawer, and the next time we tried them, they were AMAZING.  So definitely, plan ahead a day and you'll be rewarded for your self-control.

After a day in the refrigerator, I usually cut them into squares and put them in freezer bags.  They're rich, so I don't make them overly big.  Nancy Silverton's are 3-by-4 inches, which is huge.  I usually go for 3-by-2 inches.  Still, it makes plenty to share.

ISABELLA'S BROWNIES

These brownies, which are actually the ones pictured above, are made without nuts.  The only change I made was to use the 10x15x1-inch pan, so they wouldn't get too thin and lose the yummy gooey center.

Everything else is the same, including the cooking time.

MATT'S BROWNIES

Since Matt doesn't like nuts in his baked goods, I substituted 2 cups of Toffee bits (the same ones I use in the Blondies).  They are made with almonds, so not good for anyone with tree-nut allergies. Use the larger jelly-roll pan, 11x17x1-inch.  Baking time is the same.  The Toffee bits do blend in to the batter a bit, but these brownies are chewier and have a little crunch to them as well.  They have a lovely buttery flavor that isn't in the others.  So enjoy!