Introduction: How to Temper Chocolate

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In this simple Instructable, learn how to temper chocolate at home.

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Follow the simple steps below or watch the short video tutorial or do both!

Supplies

Ingredients:

  1. Chocolate - Dark, semi-sweet, milk, white

Tools/Equipment:

  1. Thermometer
  2. Metal or Pyrex bowls
  3. Pot
  4. Molds for the chocolate

Step 1: Separate and Melt the Chocolate

Begin by separating your chocolate into 3rds. So if you have 1 cup of total chocolate, add 2/3 cup in one bowl and keep 1/3 cup of it separate. Then, take the bowl with the 2/3 cup and place it on top of a pot that has about 1 inch of water in it. Set the burner to medium. As the water heats up, it will create steam which will warm the bowl and gently melt the chocolate. Stir occasionally until melted, and it heats up to a certain temperature depending on the chocolate you are melting. See the attached guide. In this case, I am doing milk chocolate, so I need to heat it between 110 and 113°F.

Once the chocolate melts and you get to that 1st temperature, remove it from the heat.

Step 2: Cool the Chocolate: Seeding or Table Method

Now we need to cool the chocolate down to the second temperature listed in the chart. There are a couple of ways this is accomplished. 1. The seeding method shown here. Add the other 1/3 of the chocolate and stir. As it melts, it will cool the chocolate. Keep stirring until the chocolate cools to the right temperature. In this case, 80 to 82°F for milk chocolate.

The other method is called tabling. If you don't want to use the seeding method, you can pour the chocolate onto a quartz or marble counter or slab, use a bench scraper, and move the chocolate back and forth until it cools to the right temperature.

Step 3: Reheat and Mold It

Now bring the chocolate back to the burner and heat it up to the proper working temperature for that chocolate. In this case, 86F for milk chocolate. Now the chocolate is tempered, you can use it for chocolate bars, or other candies like peanut butter cups, etc.

Pour it into the mold and then tap the mold several times to release any air bubbles. Then allow it to sit and harden at room temperature, or place it in the fridge, which will speed the hardening process.

*You can print the How to Temper Chocolate guide here if you want.

Step 4: Video Tutorial

Now watch those steps in action with this short video tutorial!