| When: Sunday, May 28, 2023 from 10 AM until 3 PM |
| Instructors: Heike Meyer |
| Level: Beginner to Advanced Bakers & Food Lovers |
| Costs: $150 per person |
| Where: In-Person Class at Brot Bakehouse and Kitchen in Vermont |
Bread - one of the foundations of human life - has become industrialized, bland and depleted. By coming back to the traditional ways of making bread - which natural starter cultures, lots of time and locally grown, whole grains - we are re-claiming one of the oldest, most comforting foods in our shared human history for a healthy diet.
In this workshop we will look at the history, ancient and modern use and many possibilities of baking with a natural starter culture. By understand the assembly of microbial communities in sourdough and their impact on bread baking, your home-baked bread will have amazing flavor and digestibility. Natural bread making is easy and everybody can do it!
By diving deeper into the traditional techniques for bread making we explore everything from flatbreads to classic hearth breads, using local spelt, rye, corn & wheat. Join us for a day of kneading, baking, and tasting. Some of those tastes will probably be new to you, as we bake with locally grown ancient grains and rare varieties. Some grains - like wheat and oats - are familiar but might still surprise you.
We think good ingredients, traditional preparations, sustainable farming practices and rich taste will always go together. Yes, you will learn how to bake incredible bread. But you will also go home with a re-kindled appreciation for foods that nourish you and the knowledge of preparing them for you and your family. After all, baking has always been about sharing bread and the rituals around it.
Workshop includes all material, recipe handouts, hands-on baking instructions, sourdough & natural starter theory incl. feeding routine, and a farm-to-bakery tasting with our freshly baked breads. Suitable for everyone who is curious about exploring natural baking in-depth.
Every participant will receive a starter culture to take home.
REGISTRATION STARTS FEB 1, 2023
Topics discussed in this class include:
- Start, maintain, refresh and look after your bread starter
- Fermentation principles of naturally leavened bread
- Ancient techniques and variables affecting the fermentation
- Factors affecting crumb structure and texture
- Understanding shaping & scoring techniques of bread baking
- Baking in different ovens
- Baking with different grains (spelt, rye, wheat, oats and more)
- Making pastries, cakes and quickbreads with a natural starter culture
- Nutrition & digestibility of sourdough bread and whole grains
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. If you need to cancel last minute - one week 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.
No refund if you need to cancel less than 24 hours before class date.
COVID-19 Pandemic Notes:
As we return to in-person classes we will place the safety and well-being of all class attendees first. We always follow the rules and guidelines of the Vermont Department of Health when holding our classes. At this time there are no restrictions or mandates in place, but in order to protect our health and those of our students we ask all class participants and teachers to be fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus by the time they take a class.
Although not mandatory at this time we encourage wearing a protective face mask when being indoors.
We can provide face masks should you prefer to wear one during class.
With the nature of a pandemic in mind these rules and guidelines can change and any time, so please make sure to check back in before class for the latest updates. We reserve the right to cancel any class should it be deemed necessary. In this case, a full refund will be given. Our goal is to ensure everyone can have a safe and pleasant experience baking with us, especially in these challenging times. Thank you for your consideration and for taking care of our shared human communities.
Please contact us if you have any questions before signing up!