Source:The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg. Third Ed
Makes 1 serving.
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Tips: Use to cover cookies and candies.
Tempering Chocolate
Cold Water Method
Ingredients
Preparation
Chocolate
A instant read cooking thermometer works very well to check the temperatures during this process.
1. Chop the chocolate into pieces and melt over a water bath of simmering water. Stir constantly to avoid overheating or burning. To completely melt all of the fats, heat chocolate to approximately 115- 120 F degrees. The temperature varies depending on the manufacturer, so it is a good idea to check the label. Ideally, the chocolate should then be held at this temperature for at least 30 minutes before proceeding with the tempering process.
2. Place the bowl over ice water and stir from time to time durian the first few minutes. When the chocolate begins to set up on the sides and the bottom of the bowl, scrape down the sides and stir constantly until the chocolate is thick and pasty, around 80 F degrees.
3. Return the bowl to the warm water bath and warm the chocolate to 85- 90 F degrees.
4. Tasting the tempered chocolate: before starting to work with the product, it is always a good idea to check whether the chocolate has been tempered correctly, regardless of the method used. Do this by dipping the corner of a small piece of baking paper into the chocolate. Fold the dipped part of the paper back onto the clean area and let the chocolate cool at room temperature of 64 -68 F degrees. Within 5 minutes the chocolate should have set enough so that it is not sticky when you pull the folded paper apart and if scraped with a knife it should roll up like a chocolate curl. You can expedite the test by placing the paper with the chocolate into the refrigerator; the chocolate should break in half with a clean snap after 1 to 2 minutes.
