For such a simple step, melting chocolate can cause a lot of distress. If it gets too hot, it’ll burn. If it doesn’t get hot enough, it’ll be lumpy. If it gets wet, it’ll turn gritty and sludgy. Marcus, J. B. (2013). Culinary Nutrition: The Science and Practice of Healthy Cooking. Elsevier Science. p.367. ISBN 978-0-12-391883-3. By 1849, under Walter Baker, the Baker's Chocolate brand had spread to California, during the Gold Rush era. Production was limited to one kind of chocolate until 1852, when employee Samuel German created "German's Sweet Chocolate" that had a higher sugar content than previous baking chocolates. In 1957 a Dallas, Texas newspaper printed a cake recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" based on this chocolate, which was reprinted by the company's owner General Foods under the " German chocolate cake", becoming the accepted name. An Irish immigrant and local businessman, John Hannon, the help of Dr. James Baker, a Harvard grad, started to import cocoa beans and grind it into chocolate in the 1760s; they called their endeavor Hannon’s Best Chocolate. In 1779, John Hannon mysteriously disappeared during a cocoa bean buying trip to the West Indies and his widow sold the whole company to Baker in 1780. Baker renamed the business The Baker Chocolate Company. Generations of the Baker family created the first chocolate industrial area in the United States – the very first!

Baking chocolate, on the other hand, is what you should be reaching for. In its pure form, baking chocolateis unsweetened chocolate aka chocolate liquor. It is 100% chocolate without any added sugar or flavors. It’s bitter and therefore used in recipes with added sugar.While “baking chocolate” is unsweetened chocolate, you can use other chocolate varieties in baking.It’s a little confusing, I know. Chocolate used for baking can also bebittersweet, semi-sweet, milk, and white chocolate varieties– but the term “baking chocolate”typically means unsweetened. Got it? Super Chunk Brownies- Coarsely chop 8 oz Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Bittersweet Chocolate and ½ cup pecans. Stir into the brownie batter before baking. Yes, you can melt chocolate directly in a saucepan on the stovetop. Melting chocolate directly in a skillet or saucepan Ever wonder what the percentage on a chocolate bar means? This number actually tells you quite a lot about the flavor you’re about to unwrap– it refers to the percentage ofingredients by weight coming from cacao. A higher percentage means more intense chocolate flavor and lesssweet. Which relates to my second criterion: How many dishes do I have to wash? Because if there’s a method that takes a minute longer but results in fewer dishes, I’m going to choose that one every time.The company was established when a physician named Dr. James Baker met John Hannon on the banks of the Neponset River. Irishman John Hannon was penniless but was a skilled chocolatier, a craft which he had learned in England [1] and which was, until that point, exclusive to Europe. With Baker's help, Hannon set up a business where he produced "Hannon's Best Chocolate" for 15 years. In 1779, Hannon went to the West Indies and never returned. His wife sold the company in 1780 to Dr. Baker, who changed the name to Baker Chocolate Company. [2] James and Walter Baker (above) gave their name to the company, while Henry Pierce (below) helped them expand the business a b Holmberg, M. (2009). Absolutely Chocolate: Irresistible Excuses to Indulge. Taunton Press. p.4. ISBN 978-1-60085-133-9. After testing five different methods against each other, here are my results. Side-by-side testing of chocolate melting methods

Bakers Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies- Gently warm ¼ of natural peanut butter until in a liquid state. (Natural peanut butter will swirl more easily.) Add dollops of the peanut butter to the top of the batter and use a knife to swirl the top. Alternatively, melt ½ cup peanut butter chips in the microwave by heating, then stirring, in 15 second intervals. Pour ribbons of peanut butter over the batter and use a knife to swirl The logo of the chocolate server, called La Belle Chocolatière, was adopted in 1883 after a painting by the Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard called Das Schokoladenmädchen, which can be found at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (art gallery) in Dresden, Germany. The story of the Schokoladenmädchen is not as clear-cut as published in the recipe pamphlet-book Choice Recipes from 1913. The painting was done in the 1740s at the Vienna court of the Austrian Kaiserin Maria Theresia at a time when Jean-Etienne Liotard had been commissioned to paint both the Kaiser and Kaiserin (empress and emperor). It is said that the model of the Schokoladenmädchen was one of the young ladies at court whose beauty led Liotard to put it on a canvas. [4] When you read "classic" in relation to these brownies, please don't read "stodgy", "outdated", or "typically ho-hum." Goldstein, D.; Mintz, S.; Krondl, M.; Rath, E.; Mason, L.; Quinzio, G.; Heinzelmann, U. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p.45. ISBN 978-0-19-931361-7. This chocolatemelts down uniformly because it contains few additional ingredients besides the cacao. If I’m using chocolate as a coating for candies, sometimes I add 1/2 teaspoon of oil when I’m melting it down. This makes dunking and dipping easier because it slightly thins out the chocolate.The offset spatula on the top was dipped into chocolate that was melted and cooled; it’s dull and not properly tempered. The spatula on the bottom was dipped into tempered chocolate, so it remains shiny even once cool. Once melted, should you temper your chocolate? Recipes that include unsweetened baking chocolate typically use a significant amount of sugar. [5] Bittersweet baking chocolate must contain 35 percent chocolate liquor or higher. [5] Most baking chocolates have at least a 50% cocoa content, with the remaining content usually being mostly sugar. [3] Houston, Herbert S. (April 1902). "Baker Chocolate Advertising Supplement: Chocolate Making in America". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. V: PT1–PT8 . Retrieved 2009-07-10. Includes historic photos of Baker Chocolate facilities. Welcome to The Storied Recipe! Guests of the podcast share a recipe they cherish for its significance to their culture and heritage. I invite you to listen to Liz Zunon's episode, Grandpa Cacao's Granddaughter, while you make this classic Baker's brownie recipe. a b c d e f g Better Homes and Gardens (2013). Better Homes and Gardens Baking: More than 350 Recipes Plus Tips and Techniques. Better Homes and Gardens Cooking. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p.18. ISBN 978-0-544-17781-9.

In addition, a pan of these brownies has the loveliest thin crust on top and the chewiest of corners. Press most of the cocoa butter out of unsweetened chocolate, and you’ll end up with bitter-tasting (but wonderful) natural unsweetened cocoa powder. The most widely available, it’s the secret weapon when you want a deep, rich chocolate flavor for baked goods like Devil’s Food Cake. While you can use a little bit to sprinkle on truffles, this type of cocoa powder is almost always intended to be used in a recipe, not eaten alone by the spoonful. (Come on, we’ve all tried it.) Dutch Processed Cocoa PowderIf you love chocolate you might be interested to know there was a time it would have been produced right here in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester! And that chocolate is the subject of this History Lesson!

The Baker family sold the company to the Forbes Syndicate in 1896, and the Syndicate kept the Baker name and production in Dorchester. They even expanded and by the 1960’s, Baker occupied over 14 acres in Lower Mills. But by the 1960s the company was owned by General Foods and they decided to close the Dorchester factories and move the operation to Dover, DE. Sadly, by 1965, Baker was completely gone from Dorchester. Erythritol– Erythritol is by far one of the most common sweeteners you’ll see in our baked goods. We love it because it’s very close to sugar taste wise, has a very minimal blood glucose impact, and makes delicious desserts. Erythritol can also be found in many grocery stores and online easily. Try our Almond Flour Keto Scones that use butter, almond flour, and erythritol, the holy trinity of keto. Another way to add chocolate to a recipe is with cocoa powder. This powder is dried pulverized cocoa solids. It’s not particularly sweet, but it brings the chocolate flavor. Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder a b c d e f g Goldstein, D.; Mintz, S.; Krondl, M.; Rath, E.; Mason, L.; Quinzio, G.; Heinzelmann, U. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p.45. ISBN 978-0-19-931361-7. Bakers Chocolate Cream Cheese Cheesecake Brownies - Let 8oz. cream cheese soften at room temperature. Mix cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, 1 egg, and ¼ cup flour. Add dollops of the cream cheese to the top of the batter and use a knife to swirl into the batter mix.This question couldn’t be better timed for Ray, who recently took part in a Zoom bake-along where his chocolate fudge tart was on the menu. “I specified that you could use cheapo chocolate, and I stand by that,” he says. “I’m not a chocolate connoisseur; I always go for milk chocolate, which is fattier, so in that context, there’s not much point spending loads on it.” This unsweetened chocolate is made with premium cacao. Featuring no added ingredients, it delivers a deep cocoa flavour that's sure to delight the chocolate lovers in your family.