Baked in Brooklyn

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Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito own Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  It's a bakery/coffee shop where they sell American baked goods with a twist.  Their signature item is brownie.  But they also have their versions of whoopie pies and oreo cookies. 

 

They recently opened an outpost in Charleston, South Carolina.  Their latest book is Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

Baked Oreos

 

Salt and Pepper Cookie

Baked Brownies

Making the Baked Brownie


The Baked Brownie

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder


11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped coarsely

8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp instant espresso powder

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature


2 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.
Configure a large sized double boiler. Place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars. Whisk the sugars until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. Mixture should be room temperature.

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving.