Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..

Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?

No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k (new classic brownies)
and
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o (supernatural brownies)

maxine in ri

maxine in ri wrote:
> Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k (new classic brownies)
> and
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o (supernatural brownies)
>
> maxine in ri
>



I think the writer is just adding unnecessary steps for the sake of
making it complicated. (Complicated == Sophisticated).

Bob

On Apr 11, 9:09 am, "maxine in ri" > wrote:
> Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(new classic brownies)
> andhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernatural brownies)
>
> maxine in ri
That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. There is no
advantage to cooling in a water bath. I guess it would speed it up,
but why bother!! That's what racks were invented for.

merryb wrote:
>
> On Apr 11, 9:09 am, "maxine in ri" > wrote:
> > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
> >
> > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
> >
> > No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
> >
> > http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(new classic brownies)
> > andhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernatural brownies)
> >
> > maxine in ri
> That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. There is no
> advantage to cooling in a water bath. I guess it would speed it up,
> but why bother!! That's what racks were invented for.

Theoretically it might prevent the core from continuing to bake and
therefore make for a more chewy-gooey brownie, something that could
probably also be accomplished more easily with a shorter bake at a
higher temp. In general though - silly.

Pete C.

merryb wrote:
> On Apr 11, 9:09 am, "maxine in ri" > wrote:
>> Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
>> ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
>> chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
>> white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
>> baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>>
>> Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
>> pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>>
>> No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>>
>> http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(new classic brownies)
>> andhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernatural brownies)
>>
>> maxine in ri
> That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. There is no
> advantage to cooling in a water bath. I guess it would speed it up,
> but why bother!! That's what racks were invented for.

It looks like silly shit to me, too. God bless 'em, this is the same
type of nonsense that make us believe "professional" domestic kitchens
are indispensable!

maxine in ri wrote:
>
> Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..


There are lots of variations of brownies and the results vary a lot. My
personal favourite is the one in Joy of Cooking for Cockaigne Brownies,
rich, chocolatey and a little chewy (if made in a large pan than the recipe
calls for.


> Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?

Some cooks are funny about things. Buttering parchment paper sounds like
overkill. There should not be any reason to butter parchment paper. It is
silicone treated to make it non stick.


>
> No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k (new classic brownies)
> and
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o (supernatural brownies)
>
> maxine in ri

On Apr 11, 4:29 pm, "Pete C." > wrote:
> merryb wrote:
>
> > On Apr 11, 9:09 am, "maxine in ri" > wrote:
> > > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> > > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> > > No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>
> > >http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(newclassic brownies)
> > > andhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernaturalbrownies)
>
> > > maxine in ri
> > That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. There is no
> > advantage to cooling in a water bath. I guess it would speed it up,
> > but why bother!! That's what racks were invented for.
>
> Theoretically it might prevent the core from continuing to bake and
> therefore make for a more chewy-gooey brownie, something that could
> probably also be accomplished more easily with a shorter bake at a
> higher temp. In general though - silly.
>
> Pete C.

That's sort of what I was thinking, that it had to do with the way the
sugar cooled to make a textural difference, but then don't we have
something that's not really a brownie?<g>

maxine in ri

On Apr 11, 4:46 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> maxine in ri wrote:
>
> > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> There are lots of variations of brownies and the results vary a lot. My
> personal favourite is the one in Joy of Cooking for Cockaigne Brownies,
> rich, chocolatey and a little chewy (if made in a large pan than the recipe
> calls for.
>
> > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> Some cooks are funny about things. Buttering parchment paper sounds like
> overkill. There should not be any reason to butter parchment paper. It is
> silicone treated to make it non stick.

I might think that the butter inside the parchment would make a
difference in the outer shell of the brownie, but the stuff between
the parchnment and the pan makes no sense whatsoever!
Unless it's a leftover instruction from when they made them with foil
only, or waxed paper or something.

maxine in ri

On Apr 11, 1:46 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> maxine in ri wrote:
>
> > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> There are lots of variations of brownies and the results vary a lot. My
> personal favourite is the one in Joy of Cooking for Cockaigne Brownies,
> rich, chocolatey and a little chewy (if made in a large pan than the recipe
> calls for.
>
> > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> Some cooks are funny about things. Buttering parchment paper sounds like
> overkill. There should not be any reason to butter parchment paper. It is
> silicone treated to make it non stick.
>
>
>
>
>
> > No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
>
> >http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(new classic brownies)
> > and
> >http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernatural brownies)
>
> > maxine in ri- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

That's my favorite recipe, also. I like to add a cup or so of
chocolate chips to the batter. I have also been known to pipe a few
lines of raspberry jam on the top & then draw a knife thru to disperse
a little.

maxine in ri wrote:
>
> On Apr 11, 4:46 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> > maxine in ri wrote:
> >
> > > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
> >
> > There are lots of variations of brownies and the results vary a lot. My
> > personal favourite is the one in Joy of Cooking for Cockaigne Brownies,
> > rich, chocolatey and a little chewy (if made in a large pan than the recipe
> > calls for.
> >
> > > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
> >
> > Some cooks are funny about things. Buttering parchment paper sounds like
> > overkill. There should not be any reason to butter parchment paper. It is
> > silicone treated to make it non stick.
>
> I might think that the butter inside the parchment would make a
> difference in the outer shell of the brownie, but the stuff between
> the parchnment and the pan makes no sense whatsoever!
> Unless it's a leftover instruction from when they made them with foil
> only, or waxed paper or something.
>
> maxine in ri

Butter between the parchment and pan makes more sense than butter
between the brownie and the parchment. The parchment is already
non-stick so on the brownie side it should be just fine. The butter on
the pan side serves to adhere the parchment to the pan so that the
parchment doesn't move around or have the brownie batter leak under it.

Pete C.

maxine in ri wrote:
>
> On Apr 11, 4:29 pm, "Pete C." > wrote:
> > merryb wrote:
> >
> > > On Apr 11, 9:09 am, "maxine in ri" > wrote:
> > > > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > > > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > > > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > > > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > > > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
> >
> > > > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > > > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
> >
> > > > No, I'm not going to post them. Go look for yourself.
> >
> > > >http://preview.tinyurl.com/3asf8k(newclassic brownies)
> > > > andhttp://preview.tinyurl.com/2wqo8o(supernaturalbrownies)
> >
> > > > maxine in ri
> > > That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. There is no
> > > advantage to cooling in a water bath. I guess it would speed it up,
> > > but why bother!! That's what racks were invented for.
> >
> > Theoretically it might prevent the core from continuing to bake and
> > therefore make for a more chewy-gooey brownie, something that could
> > probably also be accomplished more easily with a shorter bake at a
> > higher temp. In general though - silly.
> >
> > Pete C.
>
> That's sort of what I was thinking, that it had to do with the way the
> sugar cooled to make a textural difference, but then don't we have
> something that's not really a brownie?<g>
>
> maxine in ri

Don't know about a hard definition for a brownie, after all they have
those "flourless cakes" which are more like aerated scrambled eggs than
cakes in reality.

Pete C.

On Apr 12, 6:01 pm, "Pete C." > wrote:
> maxine in ri wrote:
>
> > On Apr 11, 4:46 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> > > maxine in ri wrote:
>
> > > > Glancing at the NYT brownie recipes printed today,I noticed that the
> > > > ratios of flour, and eggs are the same, but one uses bittersweet
> > > > chocolate and 40% of the sugar than the other (also, it's brown, not
> > > > white), and the latter uses a water bath to cool the brownies after
> > > > baking, along with unsweetened chocolate and twice the butter..
>
> > > There are lots of variations of brownies and the results vary a lot. My
> > > personal favourite is the one in Joy of Cooking for Cockaigne Brownies,
> > > rich, chocolatey and a little chewy (if made in a large pan than the recipe
> > > calls for.
>
> > > > Why the rapid chill? Why does the other recipe call for buttering the
> > > > pan, laying in parchment, and buttering the parchment also?
>
> > > Some cooks are funny about things. Buttering parchment paper sounds like
> > > overkill. There should not be any reason to butter parchment paper. It is
> > > silicone treated to make it non stick.
>
> > I might think that the butter inside the parchment would make a
> > difference in the outer shell of the brownie, but the stuff between
> > the parchnment and the pan makes no sense whatsoever!
> > Unless it's a leftover instruction from when they made them with foil
> > only, or waxed paper or something.
>
> > maxine in ri
>
> Butter between the parchment and pan makes more sense than butter
> between the brownie and the parchment. The parchment is already
> non-stick so on the brownie side it should be just fine. The butter on
> the pan side serves to adhere the parchment to the pan so that the
> parchment doesn't move around or have the brownie batter leak under it.
>
> Pete C.

Ok, that solves that mystery. Thanks!
maxine