The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Bread baking class recommendations?

nonaggie's picture
nonaggie

Bread baking class recommendations?

I'm interested in finding a good class to help me further my bread baking skills, and I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for good classes.  Just to give a little more information, I'm a home baker most interested in baking lean 100% whole grain sourdough.  I am baking edible bread right now, but there's lots of room for improvement.  Right now, it's hard for me to tell whether my dough is under/over-proofed, I have no shaping skills whatsoever, struggle with high-hydration doughs, etc.  I'd like to take a very hands-on class where I can get a better feel for these things.

I don't mind traveling for this class; I figure I can make it part of a vacation.  So, I'm wonderig where there are good classes.  I've looked a bit at San Francisco Baking Institute (maybe something like their 5-day Artisan I workshop), King Arthur Flour, and classes taught by Ciril Hitz; does anyone have experiences with any of these?  Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota offers awesome Artisan Baking classes among a million other types of classes. I am attending a 2 and a half day session at the end of this month. 

The area is beautiful and lots of things to do in the area if you want to turn it into a vacation. 

http://www.northhouse.org/

richkaimd's picture
richkaimd

Do it if you can because there's nothing like the personal teaching a class can give you.    Between now and when you find one, you could try these sources:  1.)  use TFL to help you find a local baker who's willing to teach you if only you were to say where you bake 2.)  look for videos on this site and others (e.g., Youtube's full of them)  3.)  Work your way through a bread making text book from cover to cover.  For the latter, look into DiMuzio's Bread Baking.  It and other texts (and here I do not mean bread recipe books, but actual text books written to accompany class room teaching) are reasonably cheap, especially if purchased used on the net through Alibris or Powell's Books).

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

I agree with both of the suggestions, but did want to add other options.  I looked around for classes, but never found anything near me that was directly on what I wanted.  I did take one craftsy class https://www.craftsy.com/baking/shop/baking-classes?filters=%7B%22selectedFilters%22%3A%5B%22%7B%5C%22filterSetId%5C%22%3A307%2C%5C%22facetName%5C%22%3...     I did the Reinhart, which was pretty good for the price.     I don't think the video is a substitute for in person, but it is a step in the right direction.  

cblueribbon's picture
cblueribbon

I attended the week long Artisan Bread Camp at The Artisan Bread School in Louisville, Ky. in September, 2015.  Tom Edwards & his sister, Lori Himmelsbach run the camp.  The class was Great and I have emailed many questions to them since & they have promptly answered.  I consider myself an amateur, however I do have a second health inspected kitchen in my home & sell an old-fashion yeast roll at a local produce market.  I would highly recommend their school.  You have to provide your own lodging, but when I attended, Tom's wife cooked lunch & dinner that was also fantastic.  They have a web site.

nonaggie's picture
nonaggie

Thank you all for the ideas!

I'll take a look at the books and online classes as well.  One reason I'd prefer to take a class in person is that I think I'll get a lot more practice and feedback; at the rate we eat bread, I usually bake a loaf every week or two, so it's hard to experiment and compare results quickly!

emmsf's picture
emmsf

 The San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI) is a remarkable institution. They have beautiful kitchens, state-of-the-art equipment, and fantastic instructors. They offer five day classes as well as much more serious long-term professional training. These classes are appropriate for serious home bakers or professionals.  They offer a wide variety of classes on bread, sourdough, etc. etc., as well as classes in pastry. Very, very highly recommended! They have a decent website if you are interested in finding out more. 

thebakerstage's picture
thebakerstage

@cblueribbon, Thanks so much for sharing your information about your experience here at The Artisan Bread School  in Louisville.  Taking the time to learn to bake is a great step in becoming a better baker and then continuing to refine your craft is an amazing adventure.  We love to share with our students and teach everyone from the beginning baker to those wanting to start their own Community Supported Bakery.  Our five day classes focus on the basics of sourdough baking, including English Muffins, Focaccia, Sourdough Bagels and lots of work on the classic country loaf and learning to bake with freshly milled grains.  We have some exciting things coming up, as we open our brick and mortar, MozzaPi.  We will be hosting the IACP and are excited to have baker, Peter Reinhart, and author, Amy Halloran will join us for a day of farmer - miller - baker.  We are also hoping to be joined by Dr. Stephen Jones from the Bread Lab.  Pease contact us at the school at www.artisanbreadschool.com for more information!