Joe’s Baking Trivia

Jenni over at Pastry Methods and Techniques wrote in with this interesting tidbit on Friday:

So, get this: pain au chocolate is filled w/chocolate that has seized! This is keen, because it gets melty but doesn’t run all over the world. So, if you ever accidentally seize some chocolate, save for these little guys. 🙂

Never thought of that, though it makes all the sense in the world. There’s heat in there, plus a small amount of moisture (steam from the dough and the butter)…all the right ingredients to cause the chocolate to seize into clumps after it melts. Great stuff, Jenni! Thanks!

Oh, and by the way, anyone out there know how to “un-seize” a pan of melted chocolate? Just add a little water. But Joe! A little water is what causes the chocolate to seize in the first place! That’s right. A few drops of water is just enough moisture to make the chocolate solids in the pot stick together. A few more will lube them up to the point that they flow again. Problem solved!