Kyl Haselbauer has 20 years of experience working in fine-dining and modernist kitchens, including Bar Cotto and Anchovies &amp; Olives in Seattle. He is also the owner of Bright Spot, a café and coffee shop in Seattle.

Kyl Haselbauer

From s’mores-essential Hershey’s chocolate to extra-rich and indulgent artisanal bars, there are few things in life better than well-made chocolate.There are some sizeable barriers to making chocolate from scratch at home. Professional chocolatiers use a conche (and other high-end specialty equipment) to transform roasted cacao nibs into smooth chocolate. While there are conches available for at-home use (we even put one to work turning coffee beans into chocolate in our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/dark-matter">Dark Matter recipe</a>), we wanted to find a way to make chocolate without expensive specialty equipment.When it comes to chocolate, size does matter—micron size, that is. A micron is one-millionth of a meter, and it’s what determines/affects the overall mouthfeel of chocolate. Too big (about 35 μm) and that chocolate will be perceived as gritty on the palate. But if it’s too fine (around 10 μm), that perception switches to sticky. (This is where the conche shines, grinding cacao nibs to the perfect micron.) We wondered if we could win the grinding game by skipping the conche and using already prepared professionally ground ingredients. The results were surprising. It turns out, you don’t need high-end specialty equipment to make a kick-ass chocolate bar at home that’s shiny, smooth, snappy, and super delicious. With just three ingredients and no special tools (except the molds), this bar will whisk you away to the world of Wonka and make you feel like a true chocolate-making genius.

How to Make Artisanal Chocolate At Home—No Special Equipment Required