Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S'more

by Todd Masonis, Greg D'Alesandre, Lisa Vega

One of the country's most celebrated craft chocolate makers explains how to make chocolate from scratch in your own kitchen. From sourcing beans to the mechanics and machinery of making bars, this is the first ever guide to making chocolate from start to finish, with 30 recipes for desserts and treats.
Founded in 2011 as a quirky passion project by two friends from the San Francisco tech world, Dandelion Chocolate has grown to become one of the most admired leaders in craft chocolate--a growing movement akin to that of craft coffee. Making chocolate out of only two ingredients--cacao beans and sugar--Dandelion dives deep into all the aspects of the process, from bean sourcing, fermentation, and drying to roasting and all the way to the final, gold-wrapped bar. This book is the complete story of the purest, most intensely flavored chocolate, including how to make it yourself (in both quick-start and deep-dive versions), the details of sourcing and processing, and instructions on baking with these unique, precious treats.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

Published November 14, 2017

Reviews

[Hajdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like savoring a piece of your favorite chocolate, enjoying each phase as new flavors burst on your tongue, this is a book for chocolate enthusiasts to savor. Making Chocolate will be a treasured resource for chocolate makers both new and experienced, as well as enthusiasts wanting to learn more about where chocolate comes from and how it's made. Each section of the book is full of precisely thorough and useful information. Dandelion chocolate is not keeping their secrets here, they are sharing their knowledge, experiences, and even their failures for all of our benefit. I wish I had this book when I first started making chocolate at home a year ago. If you are just starting to make chocolate, talk to as many chocolate makers as you can because they all use different methods, but definitely have a copy of this book as your reference guide.

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super informative about chocolate and where it comes from written by bean-to-bar chocolate maker, Dandelion Chocolate. Features origin stories, cacao varieties, and why it's important to source good, high quality beans from local farmers, all while exuding ethical and sustainable business practices. This book was very useful to me because I work for a local chocolate factory that follows many of the same business principles. Also includes a section on how one can make their own chocolate at home and a whole section of mouthwatering recipes at the end.

Side note: I think it's very important that consumers are aware of where their chocolate comes from and the people behind it!

[Gabbie De Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dandelion as a brand because they’re just so down to earth and I really really enjoyed this book because it’s a really extensive look into the world of chocolate! They didn’t hold back on sharing their knowledge and experiences.

[Amber Royer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth it for the gorgeous photographs alone. Covers everything from sourcing chocolate to baking with it. Lovely recipes.