On a recent visit to the Brunswick Winter Market at Ft. Andross I stopped at the Hootenanny table where Damariscotta baker Derek DeGeer sells his artisanal breads. Most are made from local grains, and I’ve tried his rustic multi-grain and sour dough breads, which are very good: wonderfully rich with wholesome goodness.  His bagels are another standout.

Hootenanny’s bagels; brownies in the background

He also usually has a tray of brownies displayed on the table.  They’re show-stopper brownies—very dark and look as though they’re incredibly rich and fudgy.  I could no longer resist and I finally bought one on my last visit to save for later.  I put it in my bag and continued shopping at the market.  But that brownie was calling me and couldn’t help pinching off a small piece to taste.

And OMG what an experience.  It was the best brownie I’ve had in years.  It was intensely rich, earthy, fudgy and extremely chocolaty.  I kept nibbling away as I shopped, and each bite was a true revelation of flavor.

I stopped by Balfour Farm’s table and relayed to Heather Donahue, the owner of Balfour with her husband Doug that she had to go try Hootenanny’s brownies.  I’ve known Heather for years and thought she’d appreciate these morsels because she’s such an avid baker herself.

She, too, bought one to save for later but ultimately couldn’t resist trying it then and there.  Her reaction was just like mine.

What’s distinctive about these brownies is that they’re made with buckwheat flour.    Buckwheat is not a wheat made from grass—and thus is actually gluten free.  Rather it derives from plants like sorrel and rhubarb.

My batch of Hootenanny’s buckwheat-walnut brownies

The batter itself is fairly standard mixed with a half-pound of butter, unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolates and a touch of instant espresso powder. Since there’s only one-half cup of flour in the batter it’s an extremely moist and fudgy brownie.

Interestingly I had come across another fantastic brownie recipe, this one published in a recent New York Times article.  The recipe came from the Violet Bakery in London (Violet Bakery Cookbook has just been published). What was distinctive with this brownie was its use of rye flour instead of all-purpose.  I’ve made these.  They’re also were quite rich, but the rye flour added a very earthy, winey depth of flavor.  I used the rye flour from Anson Mills, whose heritage flours are superb.  The one change that I made to the recipe was to melt the chocolate and butter over very low heat, stirring frequently, instead of using a double boiler as directed.  Most of the time I find it unnecessary to fuss with double boilers, and if you’re careful you won’t burn the chocolate (or ruin a custard).  I’ve included the recipe link to the Violet Bakery Rye Brownies.  Note, these should be under baked by a few minutes to avoid overbaking.