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Making Semisweet chocolate from unsweetened chocolate
I need a semisweet chocolate with very little sugar (somwhat bitter) for certain items (such as the bottoms of my coconut macaroons). This semisweet chocolate must be tempered. I usually use unsweetened chocolate, sugar, vanilla, cocoa butter, and regular butter. What should the ratio of butter to cocoa butter be to have enough cocoa butter crystals to temper the chocolate? Or should the amount of cocoa butter be some % of the total weight of the finished chocolate?
Adding sugar will leave you with a gritty chocolate since it isn't refined. If you do, you'll need to add some cocoa butter to keep the fat % where it will flow properly for your needs. Don't use butter because of the water it brings, but you can use anhydrous milk fat, also called butter oil as all the water is removed. The level of butter oil should be low as it will soften the chocolate. Using low amounts of butter oil will help prevent bloom, just lower the temperature you temper to a degree or two.