Baking Chocolate

by Marcus Volke
(Australia)

Chocolate Questions received this query from Australia...

Hello, I'd like to know if baking chocolate has been tempered or not?

Hi, Mr. Volke! Thanks for asking this question.

The simple answer is no. Baking chocolate is unsweetened solidified chocolate liquor (liquid chocolate). It has not been tempered.

I'm not certain whether sweetened baking bars have
been tempered. But there's a simple way to tell.

Chocolate that has been tempered is shiny and makes a snapping sound when you break it.

All chocolate needs to be tempered before
using it to dip or mold.

If you're interested in tempering your own chocolate, here's a very interesting website Tempering Chocolate.



I would also like to know what the difference between couverture and baking chocolate is?

Couverture is a high quality chocolate made with at least 31% cocoa butter. It's primarily designed for use by pastry chefs, chocolatiers,
etc. The chocolate is very rich and hardens nicely forming a thin chocolate shell.

Baking chocolate's cocoa butter content and quality varies. It's designed for baking. It doesn't have the same qualities as couverture.

Thanks again for the question! Hope the information helps you.