I am new to The Chocolate Life and would appreciate the group's thoughts on this recurrent problem I'm having with bar molds. I have attached a couple of pictures of recent snafus. After filling my well-cleaned polycarbonate molds with precystallized dark chocolate (from Guittard), I place them in the refrigerator for around 10-15 minute and then place the molds at room temperature for a few hours before releasing the bars. As the photos DSCF1724.JPG and DSCF1729.JPG show, there are dull spots on the bars and corresponding thin amounts of chocolate on the mold. The locations of these defects changes with subsequent moldings. This leads me to think this is not due to a defect in the polycarbonate mold, but rather a problem with how the chocolate is setting up. The chocolate that I am using appears to be properly precrystallized. I'm wondering if refrigeration could be playing a role?

I would appreciate any thoughts on the cause of this problem and possible solutions.

Thanks, in advance, for your advice.

Alan B

updated by @alan-b: 05/11/15 21:50:42

Either your room or your molds are too cold when you pour your chocolate. Plus there is no need to wait a few hours before de-moulding.

Take a hair dryer and heat the molds with it for about 3 seconds that should take care of your release marks. Leave them in the fridge as long as needed for them to completely release and then just take them out without letting them sit for hours.

Thank you very much for the suggestions. My room is at around 68 F, but I did neglect to warm the molds prior to filling them I wasn't sure what this defect was called--thank you for explaining that this is a release mark.

Best wishes,

Alan