Scratch This On Your Brownie List

The Chocoholic Cjaps have attended the Village Voice Choice Eats tasting event in the past, but unfortunately missed it this year since I was stuck in Austin for work.  The participants are typically very meat-centric, but the VIP tickets include special desserts.  One in particular, Scratchbread, was a participant this year, and we read amazing things about their brownies.  Since we couldn't try it at Choice, I decided the next bike ride through Brooklyn, it was on the hit list.

The owner, Matthew Tilden, started off baking breads in whatever spot he could secure and delivering them to local shops and flea markets in Brooklyn.  In October 2010, he decided to turn Scratchbread into a stand-alone bakery, with only $5,000, with the goal being to produce food that's "delicious, awesome, and not pretentious."  He wants to not only bake from scratch, but use pure ingredients rather than a whole slew of processed ingredients like you'll find in most products in grocery stores.  After about a year of using the space (which used to house a pizzeria) mostly to bake breads, and eventually opening the window once a week to sell to the public.  Now he's able to operate 6 days a week, and people line up to try his baked creations.

Fortunately, when my brother and I decided to meet up for a bike ride to Rockaway, Bed Stuy was a decent meeting point.  Since they were written up for having great bread (namely the focaccia) and breakfast dishes as well as the brownie, so off we went to investigate.

Adam and Pat (guest bloggers of the week) and I ordered our breakfasts - Stumptown ice coffee (one of my favorites), toast with almond butter and vinegared blueberries, and succotash - a small pot of roasted potatoes, corn, and cheese with a soft boiled egg on top.  I was a big fan of the succotash dish, but that can be partly because I've never had it before, and I was famished by 11am when we finally stopped having flat tires, wrong directions and finally made it to the window.  The menu changes daily, allowing for Matt to experiment with different combinations, and cult followers of Scratchbread claim they're never disappointed.  My one negative with Scratchbread was that I wished there were benches to sit on to eat the food.  After reading the background I understand why there are no tables inside, however a bench or two would have been great!

Since it was a hot day, the woman working (who is a volunteer apprentice, working to learn the trade as are all the Scratchbread employees) offered to hold my brownie in the refrigerator while we ate our breakfast, since she said it would definitely melt in the sun.  She pointed to the display, where there had once been a brownie but now just contained the residue of melted chocolate.  I had intended to bring it along on our bike ride and have it as a snack when we got to the beach, but that was a non-option on a 90 degree Friday in August.  So I paid the $3, left it waiting, and came back to give it a try after having our Stumptown and succotash.

The verdict - it wasn't like a typically brownie.  There was a thick layer of buttercream in the middle, with a light spattering of buttercream on top.  This sandwich-type brownie was unique, crispy rather than fudgy, and I can understand why Choice chose them to be in last year's event.  It was delicious, without being too intense.  If there was any more buttercream I could see it overwhelming, but it was the perfect combination.  Adam and Pat agreed, that it was one damn good brownie - even enjoyable at breakfast time.

I would definitely come back here to try their different breads.  The website lists all of the varieties and ingredients (http://www.scratchbread.com/the-goods/the-breads/), and I'll be back to try the focaccia and cracked fennel.

Scratchbread is located at 1069 Bedford Avenue.  The closest train stop is the G train to Bedford/Nostrand Ave.

The hours are:
Monday, Tuesday & Friday - 6:30 am - 3:00 pm
Thursday CLOSED
Wednesday - 6:30 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
www.scratchbread.com