Have you ever wondered what tempered chocolate is? Well look no further, here you will learn how to temper chocolate using the seeding method.
Overview of Tempered Chocolate ?
Tempered chocolate is chocolate that has undergone a specific heating and cooling process. The tempering process ensures the cocoa butter within the chocolate crystallizes properly. Cocoa butter is made up of different types of crystals, mainly Beta and Alpha crystals and the aim of tempering is to encourage these crystals to mix together to form stable crystals. Beta crystals are what give chocolate the shiny, smooth texture and the firm snap.
When you have tempered chocolate and created stable crystals, you can get these to behave and mould just the way that you want them too. Properly tempered chocolate gives your chocolates the desired silky smooth, shiny finish and that prefect snap when broken too.
There are a few different ways to temper chocolate, but this blog post is going to focus on the seeding technique. The seeding technique is the one I find the easiest.
And What if You Don’t Temper?
If you melt chocolate and cool without tempering, it can develop uncontrolled crystal formations and this can result in a dull appearance, a soft or grainy texture (Blooming), and a lack of stability.
When chocolate is not tempered properly, it has a shorter shelf life and who wants that? Whereas tempered chocolate is glossy, firm, and has a lovely snap when its broken.
Tempered chocolate has a lower melting temperature and this allows it to maintain its shape at room temperature, unlike un-tempered chocolate which will melt easier if left out in warm temperatures.
What Do I Need to Temper Chocolate?
A glass or ceramic bowl as these retain the heat better. A plastic bowl is great for beginners though because they take longer to heat up and they do not hold the heat quite as well so, they give you a little more time.
Silicone spatula to mix the chocolate
Temperature gun or Thermometer to check the temperature
Good quality chocolate – I like Calllebaut chocolate
A microwave or hob to heat the chocolate. If you are using a hob you will need a saucepan of boiling water to create a bain marie – I usually use the microwave in short bursts.
Heat gun – this is optional but if you are a beginner to this or you struggle with getting the right temperature, this can really help when you are almost at the right temperature as it gives you better control over the heat.
What is the Tempering Process?
To temper chocolate, you just take already tempered chocolate and basically break it down and then rebuild its structure. To break the structure and rebuild it, you do this by carefully heating and cooling the chocolate, controlling the temperature at different stages. When you rebuild tempered chocolate, you are then able to get this to mould and behave just the way you want it too. When you are tempering chocolate, it is always best to heat your melting chocolate in short bursts as it can go from almost there to overdone really quickly!
You can temper all different types of chocolate, such as dark, milk, or white chocolate, each requires specific temperature ranges (see the chart below). While the precise temperatures and techniques may vary, the main principles of encouraging the formation of stable crystals remains the same.
By tempering chocolate, you unlock its full potential and you can transform it from a tasty ingredient to a work of art.
What is Seeding?
Seeding chocolate is already tempered chocolate, you add this to your melted chocolate to bring this back to temper. The ratio of seeding chocolate to melted chocolate is about 1/3 for seeding. Also, a little tip if you have tempered your chocolate and you have some left over at the end you can save this for your next batch of tempering chocolate and use this for seeding. #no waste!
How to Temper Chocolate
There are a few different ways to temper chocolate, but my preferred method is the one called the “seeding” method. I really like the seeding method as I have found this to be pretty easy to master and it only takes a little bit of practice. Also, I think it gives great results too! So, here’s how to temper chocolate using the seeding method
Step 1
Measure out your chocolate, then you want to set a third of this to one side for seeding. For example, if you are using 150g of chocolate you want to put 100g in your melting bowl and set aside 50g for seeding. If you feel your seeding chocolate is in large pieces you can chop this down into smaller chunks.
Step 2
Take your chocolate that you placed in your melting bowl and pop this in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds (if you find your microwave heats quickly you might want to heat in 15 second bursts). Remove from the microwave and stir the chocolate a little to mix it together, then pop it back in the microwave for another 15 seconds, again remove and stir and check the temperature. Keep doing the heating, stirring and checking the temperature process until the chocolate reaches around 38-45°C (100-113°F), the temperature depends on the chocolate you are using. Check out the guide below for more info on the Chocolate types and temperatures. Also please note if you are almost at the correct temperature, you might find it easier to use a heat gun to help you reach the last couple of degrees.
Step 3
Now add your seeding chocolate that you set to one side earlier, and stir this into your melted chocolate. Keep stirring the seeding chocolate into the melted chocolate until it all has melted (you can help this process by giving it a squish with your spatula against the side of the bowl) and the temperature drops to approximately 29-32°C (84-88°F), again the temperature will depend on the type of chocolate you are using. See the temperature guide below. If your chocolate drops below the 29-32°C (84-88°F) you can reheat this slightly being careful not to go over this working temperature.
Step 4
To check if your chocolate is properly tempered, just spread a small amount on a piece of baking paper and set this aside for about 2-5 minutes and if it sets and has a glossy finish, it’s ready to use!
Step 5
Pop a piping bag over a tall glass and place your tempered chocolate in the piping bag, snip off the end of your piping bag making sure you dispose of the tip as you don’t want this ending up in your lovely chocolates and then you can pipe away into your moulds.
Chocolate Temperature and Setting Guide
| Chocolate Type | Tempering Temperature | Seeding Temperature | Setting Temperature | |||
| Dark | 45C (113F) | 32C (87-88F) | 2-5 Minutes | |||
| Milk | 40C (104F) | 31C (86-87F) | 5-7 Minutes | |||
| White | 38C (100F) | 29C (84F) | 7-10 Minutes | |||
Final Words on Tempering Chocolate
Tempering chocolate may seem a little scary at first or like a lot of work, but trust me all you need is a little practice at this process and you will become a master chocolatier in no time! The tempering process is totally worth the effort as you will end up with beautiful and tasty chocolate treats that are sure to impress. So go on embrace it, and see what perfectly tempered chocolate treats you can come up with, who knows where this will take you, you might even create the next must have chocolate bar!
Happy baking, creating and making, I look forward to seeing some of your designs. If you post these on social media, please tag Party, Party, Disco as I love to see what you have created.
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Happy Making!
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