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How To Make and Use a Double Boiler or Bain Marie
How To Make and Use a Double Boiler or Bain Marie
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Sometimes when working with things like chocolate, custards and fondant it's important to have slow, even, consistent heating. This ensures that your ingredients don't become too hot too fast or too much, which can cause them to break down and have their flavor negatively impacted. Other times you might want to work with something like melted chocolate for an extended period of time and not worry about constantly adjusting the heat to ensure that it's evenly melted. This is where a double boiler comes to the rescue. It's like cruise control for your heat!
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What is a double boiler or bain marie?
A double boiler, also known as a bain marie, is a specific piece of cookware consisting of two fitted pots. The bottom pot is filled with 1 to 3 inches of water and the top pot fits above it and holds the ingredient that you're heating.The whole setup is placed over a burner and heated until the water gets hot enough to heat your desired ingredient, usually chocolate in vegan baking applications, to your desired heat level. Usually you'll want to get the water boiling for best results, then turn off the heat when your ingredient gets to your preferred temperature.
Find out how to use a double boiler or bain marie to temper chocolate.
The key thing to remember when using a double boiler is that the top pot should not come in contact with the water in the bottom pot. The double boiler does it's job best when the top pot is separated by the water in the bottom pot by a layer of air. This ensures that whatever you place in the top pot will be heated evenly, consistently and remain at that temperature for a considerable amount of time.
Learn more about fat and oil melt point temperatures.