Make Better Chocolate Chip Cookies With Jacques Torres' Tip
NEWS
BY HILARY WHEELAN REMLEY
Jacques Torres' chocolate chip cookie recipe has garnered a cult following for being both chewy and soft, with layers of thin dark chocolate discs that play off rich brown sugar.
While many chocolate chip cookie recipes call for plain old all-purpose flour, Torres calls for both cake flour and bread flour in almost equal measure.
Bread flour, which is high in protein at 12% to 14%, produces a chewier result, while cake flour, which is low in protein at 7% to 9%, yields something softer and fluffier.
Combining cake and bread flour balances softness and chew, and thanks to cake flour's efficient fat absorbency, you can use high-fat-content European butter for more flavor.
Torres also calls for thin, high-quality chocolate discs with 60% cacao content. Since these lack the stabilizers of chocolate chips, the bread flower helps keep the dough stable.
In addition, Torres says to chill the dough for about 36 hours (up to 72) in the fridge to allow the flour to fully absorb both the moisture and flavor of the wet ingredients.
