Matt Lewis, Renato Poliafito

Chocolate Percentages

Appears in
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
Baked

By Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Published 2008

  • About
The percentage label on a bar of chocolate is confusing. For instance, one brand’s 64% chocolate bar is often completely different from another brand’s 64% chocolate bar. The percentage refers to the cocoa mass in the bar itself. While we could write an entire chapter on this subject, we recommend the following bars for this book’s recipes:
If a recipe calls for a dark chocolate with 60 to 72% cocoa content, use any of the following:
  • Scharffen Berger’s Home Baking Bar 62% (found in most supermarkets)
  • Scharffen Berger’s Home Baking Bar 70% (found in most supermarkets)
  • Callebaut Chocolate Block 60% (found in specialty markets—often chopped and repackaged by the specialty market)
  • Callebaut Chocolate Block 70% (found in specialty markets—often chopped and repackaged by the specialty market)