Preheat oven to 315 degrees.

Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the pulp out. Put the bean and pulp in a medium saucepan with the cream and salt. Over medium heat, gently bring to a light boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.

While the liquid rests, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the ⅔ cup of sugar until pale yellow and combined.

Remove the vanilla bean pod from the cream and discard the pod. Add the cream to the egg mixture gradually (½ cup at a time) whisking constantly to temper the egg yolk mixture.

Once combined and mixed, pour the mixture into crème brûlée dishes or ramekins about ⅔ to the top. Depending on the vessel you use will determine the cooking time.

Place crème brûlées into a baking sheet or roasting pan and fill the pan with warm water halfway up the to the top of your creme brûlée vessel. Place pan into the oven and bake for 20-45 minutes. This will be a visual cook as every crème brûlée dish is different. A wide and shallow dish will take less time than a deep ramekin. Either way, your crème brûlée will be done when the center is still jiggly but the sides have just set. At this point, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Place crème brûlées in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

At this point, you can put plastic wrap over the crème brûlées and they will last for 4 days in the refrigerator. If serving at this time, remove from the refrigerator and sprinkle about 1-2 Tbs of superfine sugar (depending on the surface area of your dish) over the top of each brûlée as evenly as you can. Using a kitchen torch (or propane/butane torch) melt the sugar gently until you achieve a few very dark brown spots and several caramel colored spots. Ensure all of the sugar has been melted. Let rest a few minutes and serve.