I Asked 7 Pro Bakers the Best Way To Make Brownies—They All Said the Same Thing

Follow their advice to make perfect fudgy brownies every time.

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Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

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Fudgy brownies are in a league of their own. The rich, dense treats have a luscious, velvety mouthfeel and a deep flavor that lingers long after they're gone.

I've made plenty of good, fudgy brownies in my life, but some batches are better than others. I’ve wondered if there was a secret to making them irresistibly fudgy every time.

So I asked seven baking experts, and to my surprise, they all had a common answer—it's all about the fat and the chocolate. Each baker has their perfect brownie recipe, so their methods and ingredients differ somewhat. But their overall strategy is the same, and it always leads to delectably fudgy brownies.

The Baking Pros I Asked

• Anna Olson: Pastry chef, Food Network star, and author of Anna Olson's Baking Wisdom
• Susan Chagas: Principal instructor at BAKE! Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan 
• Irvin Lin: Creator of Eat the Love and author of Marbled, Swirled, and Layered
• Susan Reid: Former King Arthur Baking senior recipe developer and author of The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion
• Jenni Field: Award-winning baker and creator of Pastry Chef Online 
• Alanna Taylor-Tobin: Pastry chef, creator of the The Bojon Gourmet, and author of Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with Gluten-Free Grains and Flours
• Erin Clarkson: Creator of Cloudy Kitchen

How To Make the Fudgiest Brownies, According to Baking Pros

"The quest for fudgy brownies does not need to be elusive," says Olson. Indeed, as I sifted through everyone's responses to my question, a clear pattern emerged. The key to achieving peak fudginess isn't about a secret ingredient or a complicated baking technique. It all comes down to a few"small but critical factors," as Olson puts it—namely the ingredients and ratios between them. 

"Fudgy brownies have a higher ratio of fat and sugar to flour," Field explains succinctly. Typically, a higher ratio of fat means more butter and eggs, says Chagas, though Reid prefers oil for the fat in her brownies, which makes them dairy-free.

"Fudginess depends on using a lot of ‘gooey’ ingredients," jokes Field. "Both butter and sugar qualify—butter for its high-fat content and sugar for its ability to turn into a syrup and bind liquid."

In baking, "fat and sugar are tenderizers while flour and cocoa powder or chocolate are tougheners," she explains. "Eggs straddle the line between tenderizer (egg yolks) and toughener (the proteins in egg whites). To make a fudgy brownie, you want to tilt the balance heavily towards tenderizers."

Clarkson pushes this ratio to its limits during recipe testing, reducing the amount of flour as far as it can go, retaining just enough structure for the brownie to hold together and cook through. 

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Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

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From there, the experts have tips for how to treat the “gooey” ingredients for the best results.

"Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before adding them. Cold eggs added to warm chocolate and melted butter base can seize the chocolate, resulting in a crumbly brownie," says Olson.

Then "mix just until blended.” Mixing the batter by hand ensures the eggs don't develop too much volume and the protein in the flour doesn't overdevelop. Both result in more of a cakey brownie. "Brownies don't need a lot of gluten development," notes Clarkson, "so a super gentle mix for the flour is the best way to do it."

If you are one of the many who swoons over a thin, crackly top, Field suggests mixing the eggs and sugar together first, "essentially whipping them into a meringue that rises to the top during baking." The more you whip, "the more likely you are to get that magical, crackly top on your brownies," she says.

Taylor-Tobin also uses this technique, whipping the eggs and sugar until they are thick, pale, and fluffy before adding the melted chocolate. This "gives the batter some extra lift, like a flourless chocolate cake," she explains.

Finally, to keep that fudgy consistency, "baking time is key," she says. "A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs"—a reminder to always check your brownie on the early side.

The Kinds of Chocolate That Make the Best Fudgy Brownies

Of course, it's not just about dumping in more fat and hoping for the best. The type of chocolate you use matters, too. Olson recommends using both melted chocolate for moisture and cocoa powder for  “chocolate density and intensity." This combination provides both rich texture and depth of flavor.

Lin says, "A higher quality Dutch-processed cocoa will also have a higher percentage of cocoa butter in it," which contributes to the brownie's texture and overall quality. And when it comes to choosing the chocolate, "it's always a good idea to use the best chocolate you can afford and let it shine," says Chagas.

As I absorbed all this brownie wisdom, I realized that achieving the perfect fudgy brownie is like conducting a delicious symphony. Each ingredient plays its part, but it's the balance between them that creates that dreamy texture we all crave.

So, the next time I'm whipping up a batch of brownies, I'll add more fat, use quality chocolate, and watch my bake time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some research to conduct in my kitchen!

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.