making brownies

[darkoshi]

Sometimes, it's awfully hard simply to decide whether to use the 8x8 or the 13x9 pan.

{
+ If I use the big pan, it'll look like I have more brownies!
- But they'll be thinner and might over-bake and end up hard/tough.
- The big pan will take more space in the fridge.
+ If I use the small pan, the brownies will be nice and thick.
* Mom always made brownies in a 13x9 pan when I was a kid, and they were good and chewy even though they were thinner.
- But I was a kid; small things seemed bigger back then than they do now.
* Maybe I should make both boxes of brownies at once, in the big pan?
... 13x9=117. 8x8=64. 2x64=128. Using 2 boxes in the big pan would make even thicker brownies than using one box in the 8x8 pan. They might not get cooked enough in the center; I'd better not try that.
* Maybe I ought to do something with the yellow cake mix at the same time. Yellow cake + brownie swirly thingy? 1 package of cake mix requires the 13x9 pan. If I mix them, I'd have to use only half of the cake mix or it might overflow the pan. I suppose I should stick with just brownies for now.
... So, which pan should I use?
}

Comments

Cake or fudge or chew?

[marahmarie]

There's also two ways to make brownies (besides multiple pan sizes to chose from: I use a glass 9x9 - according to this site, there's three ways): the two that I'm familiar with are thinner yet denser so they come out with the taste and texture of fudge, or taller and fluffier so they come out closer to cake (the third method I won't be discussing because I don't like chewier, but to each their own).

I prefer fudgy, which is naturally denser, a tighter, thinner brownie, so for that the smaller the pan, the better, perhaps, if you want the brownies to set a little high.

Also, I can burn a premade roll of cookie dough because God has not conferred upon me the ability to bake. But I tend to persist with the brownies (pre-mixed, because inability) in spite of my tendency to burn those to a fabulous crisp, as well, because I love them too much to stop trying to get it right.

ETA: oh, you had a question! That was my answer, I guess, just badly worded. Tl;dr: the pan size should be based on the amount of rise you want. You might want a thicker, denser brownie to set higher than a fluffy, cakey one - or you might not. It's more a matter of personal preference than an actual thing, so experimenting with different consistencies and/or pan sizes might be the best (only) way to know for sure.

Re: Cake or fudge or chew?

[darkoshi]

I like mine chewy; I'm not really sure what's the difference between "chewy" and "fudgy" brownies, as what I call chewy is thick and dense.

I ended up using the 8x8 pan today, like I did last time. The amount of rise/thickness was good. But I left them in the oven too long, and they got hard/crunchy on the edges.

Note to self: Don't over-bake the brownies! Never over-bake the brownies!

The recipe said to use 1 egg for chewy, 2 eggs for cake-like. I used enough of the "Neat Egg" powder for 1 1/2 eggs. Next time I'll try the amount for only 1 egg.

When making vegan brownies, you have to be careful to use enough leavening & flour, or you can end up with a pan of sticky greasy goo. That's why I tend to err on the side of using more egg replacer, even though I really prefer my brownies to be chewy rather than cake-like.

Re: Cake or fudge or chew?

[marahmarie]

Those hard/crunchy edges? I've done that, too, in over-baking them. And that's what chewy is like for me...not as hard and crunchy and dry as those edges, but yes, almost like that. I like some fudgy denseness without having to put a lot into the chewing of it, and with more creaminess (a higher moisture content) I guess.

But how I define chewy (sort of a one-off from those hard edges, only more throughout the brownie) could be a total 360 from how someone else defines "fudgy", because to them (and to you) they're the same thing.

Interesting food for thought!

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I knew feature creep was going to happen as soon as I started reading this, and sure enough "maybe if I make both boxes" which is always the right answer.

[darkoshi]

~LOL~ on the feature creep. I ended up choosing the 8x8 pan. And yes, I now believe I could have safely made both boxes in the big pan, and they still wouldn't have been too thick.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

And twice as much means twice as delicious!