Baking with Sourdough - Special Workshop at Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen
| Date: | tba summer 2022 |
| Time: | |
| Level: | All levels, a basic understanding of bread baking with sourdough is helpful. min. 4, max. 6 participants |
| Location: | Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen, 38 Meade Rd. Fairfax Vermont |
| Costs: | |
| Instructor: | Heike Meyer (practicum) & Jens Meyer (theory) |
| Includes: | All materials, refreshments, bread tasting supper and lunch (day one & day two) |
Deepen your understanding of working with sourdough in this hands-on workshop. Fermentation transforms your bread and pastries and in this special class you learn all about baking with a starter culture. Baking techniques, shaping, flavor & recipe development, flour selection, and the use of preferments and sourdough culture are all covered.
Join us for a weekend full of baking and tasting in a beautiful, relaxed setting, 45 minutes from Burlington, VT. Please email us for recommendations on where to stay.
Baking bread with sourdough is different! Every professional and home baker who has worked with a live culture knows that rules don't seem to apply when it comes to baking bread with sourdough. Timing, temperature, types of flour used...they all play a major role here.
In this class we explore some of the centuries-old techniques that master bakers around the world have developed to work with sourdough before commercial yeast was used for bread making. We learn all about the origin & history of bread, plus different grains and their nutritional values, before tackling different ways of baking delicious sourdough breads made with heritage wheat, rye, spelt and more. And we are not limited to the "classic" sourdough culture here - there are many different types of cultures available for the baker and all of them can be started from scratch in your kitchen.
Special attention will be paid to different methods of fermenting and how to make and keep a bread culture. "Feeding" schedules and techniques to keep a culture vibrant are discussed and practised.We look at classic and new recipes to create a bread that we then bake in class, and you will not only gain a new understanding of working with natural starter cultures, but also expand your hands-on baking knowledge and your overall bread repertoire beyond the ordinary. Class includes recipe handout, presentation, hands-on instruction, a Q&A session and a sensory bread tasting.
Workshop Content
- History of bread / basic overview of grains
- Bread, Grain, Sourdough - myths and facts
- Fundamentals of bread baking
- Fundamentals of working with sourdough and other wild yeast starters
- Materials and supplies needed for bread baking at home
- Starting and maintaining a bread culture (aka sourdough)
- Know your bread - Know your grain: Difference of working with wheat, spelt, rye and pseudo-grains
- European recipes for wheat, spelt, rye, whole grain breads, sweet breads, cakes and flatbreads (Pizza)
- Hands-on techniques: mixing, folding, shaping, scoring, baking
- Discussion: Commercial yeast vs. sourdough
- Working with a wood fired oven
- Starter Culture to take home
- Recipes and Info-Material
- Online support after the workshop
- Sensory bread tasting
- Plenty of time for discussions and Q&A
PLEASE NOTE: The class will move partly outside if weather permits and will have regular breaks to ensure a healthy air quality. Please bring layers. The bakery space is well-ventilated and equipped with an air quality monitor system and air purifier.
Please be aware of our class & cancellation policy:
- Full Payment is due upon registering for a class. We understand that there will be circumstances whereby you will need to cancel your course or change the date. Given two weeks or more notice we are happy to offer a full refund minus the b booking fee by Eventbrite (6%)
- If we need to postpone or cancel a class either a full refund will be given, or you can use your payment as a credit towards any future class.
- If you need to cancel last minute - one weeks or less of the class date - a full refund will be offered if we can refill your booking. Otherwise no refund can be issued, but we can offer a class credit; valid for 3 years.
- if you need to cancel within 48 hours of class no refund can be issued.
COVID-19 Pandemic Notes:
As we return to in-person classes we will place the safety and well-being of all class attendees first. At this time we will have the following steps in place to ensure everyone can have a safe and pleasant experience baking with us.
To protect everyone’s health during the classes we ask all participants to be fully vaccinated by the time they take a class. If you are not vaccinated, please bring a negative COVID-19 test result from a test performed a maximum of 48 hours prior to the class.
In addition to having a maximum number of 6 or 7 participants the classes, we will continue the social-distance protocols and if required ask students to wear a mask when indoors.
Please protect yourself, your family and our shared human community from becoming infected with the virus and stay home if you are feeling sick or have any symptoms of COVID-19.
We will always follow the rules and guidelines of the Vermont Department of Health when holding our classes. This could mean travel restrictions for people arriving from out-of-state, or new quarantine requirements later in the year. We also reserve the right to cancel any class should it be deemed necessary. In this case, a full refund will be given.
Please contact us if you have any questions.