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Kitchen Guide

How to Prepare a Water Bath (Double Boiler)

A water bath is easy and very important, not just for melting chocolate, but also for preparing sauces. The reason is simple. Some ingredients or products can be really heat sensitive, so they require a more sensitive approach during cooking.

Tom Tom Founder
Published:
October 19, 2023

Tools:

Small or Medium Pot with about 1″ of water (about 4 QT or 7 QT)
Medium Mixing Bowl which fits on top of the pot and sits at least 1” above the bottom of the pot
Or a double boiler

How to Prepare a Water Bath

  1. Prepare a water bath by placing about 1” of water in a pot and cover it with a mixing bowl.
  2. Bring water to a light simmer on medium heat.
  3. Lower heat to low and place ingredients into the mixing bowl. Follow the recipe from this point on.
  • I prefer to use a larger pot and bowl than I really need to have a little more space for stirring and to prevent splashing.
  • This is a basic way to prepare a water bath. Always follow the specific directions in the recipe if possible:
    • Some recipes will mainly ask to remain on medium heat after the water starts simmering or even go to high heat and let the water boil.
    • Other recipes may require you to remove the pot with the mixing bowl from the burner and use just the remaining steam without simmering (for chocolate or more sensitive sauces).
    • Some recipes may ask to put ingredients into a preheated bowl on top of the water bath and others may ask to put ingredients to the cold bowl and then place it on top of the simmering water.

Do you want to make a water bath easier?

Invest in a precise heat mixing bowl attachment from KitchenAid or another similar solution. It is fairly expensive, but it works great and makes the whole job easier. With this mixing bowl, you will be able to precisely control the temperature between 70° and 220°F with two-degree increments.

About the Author:
TomFounder
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