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1.
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Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
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2.
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Cut an 8-by-16-inch piece of parchment paper.
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Lightly butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan and line it with the parchment, allowing it to extend evenly over the opposite sides.
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Butter the parchment, including the paper on the sides of the pan.
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3.
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Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.
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Remove from the heat.
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4.
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With a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, beat the sugar and salt into the chocolate mixture.
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Beat in the eggs one at a time.
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Add the flour and mix vigorously until the batter is very glossy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
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In order to achieve the crackled top and fudgy texture of classic brownies, this batter must be beaten by hand until it pulls from the sides of the bowl.
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5.
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Break the nuts, if using, into large pieces over the batter and fold them in.
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6.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan bottom on the counter to level the batter.
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Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out moist but clean.
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7.
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Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
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Remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment handles, and cool completely on the rack before cutting into 2-inch squares.
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This recipe is from the book The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg.
