Bread baking school?

6 years ago

I'm 64, and am winding down in my professional career. A avid home chef, I still enjoy learning new techniques and dishes. The real weak spot in my cooking skill set is bread baking. I can make a hella good loaf of Lahey's no need to knead bread, but I really want to up my game to include both day to day loaves, but also artisan breads. My goal in life is to learn to bake a really good baguette. I just renovated my kitchen, which now includes a large island work surface, and a pair of Miele ovens...a convection oven, and a plumbed convection steam oven.

I've plenty of cookbooks, telling me how to bake everything from A to Z, but I've never had anyone show me how to bake a loaf of bread. I dont know the basic techniques. You can read everything you want to about how do do certain things, but until you see someone do it, see the fine points, ask questions as they and then you are doing it...I have a hard time perfecting even the basics.

So I have thought about going to a baking school. I've researched with Google, and have found the King Arthur Flour Company's school, but before I put down my tuition, I wanted to know if there are any other schools out there, with courses about 1-2 weeks long that will be intensive bread baking instructions...Hands on, here's how you do it kind of schools.

Does anyone have knowledge, experience or have gone to any courses like this and have an opinion or recommendation?

I live in Hawaii, so no matter where the school is, I am going to have to travel.....

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts.

Featured Answer

plllog

6 years ago

Going to the school might be a fun vacation, but I would suggest already having some breads under your hands before you do it. From what I'm reading in between the lines, other than a fun vacation project, which the KA school would be, and I'm sure you'd learn stuff, you might be happier with a proper culinary school. There are culinary programs in your state (though perhaps not close to where you live). I don't know if they have pastry specialties, but they might have baking as part of the general program. Have you checked if they have bread baking as a specialty? Or if you can take bread courses without enrolling in the whole program?

Rather than starting with coursework, however, I really suggest asking around and finding out if there's someone who bakes bread who lives near you who'd be willing to bake with you.

Baking bread is really a lot easier than most people believe. A lot of it is experience. Really, go to a food service supply store and buy a fifty pound bag of bread flour and bake your way through it. Be willing to fail. The best bakers have had a "brick" or two show up while they were learning, Use a scale for your ingredients. It's far more accurate than volume. Go through your books and watch some videos. Find recipes by weight with a lot of directions and tips and follow them precisely. Learn how to feel whether a loaf is fully baked by touch and check yourself with a probe thermometer (looking for 195-205°F in general).

By the time you've baked your way through the big bag of flour, you might not need any more help. Or you might decide you need to find a great bread bakery that will let you intern more than a school. Or you'll at least feel confident in your abilities to turn out a decent loaf of bread, and have the attention to pay to nuances and tips while you're taking your course to improve on what you know.

Whatever you decide on, have fun! I learned from my mother. I'm not an expert, but I love baking bread. :)

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Comments (11)

Kim G
6 years ago
I suggest you look at the on line classes through Bluprint (formerly Craftsy). I found these classes very helpful in my sour dough and other lean bread techniques. You can email the instructor questions and I have always received timely responses. You can post pics of your results and get critique and suggestions from the instructor. In particular I really like Peter Reinhardt‘s Artisan Bread Making and Jeffrey Hamelman‘s Baker’s Guide to French Bread. I have also gone through Richard Miscovich’s Handmade Sour Dough from Starter to Baked Loaf. There are many other bread making classes available. I have purchased other classes on several other disciplines like Pasta Making, Indian Cooking (want to learn to make naan), and Mexican Cooking (want to learn to make my own tortillas). You can buy the classes or pay a subscription for unlimited access SIgn up for their emails and they often have great deals on their classes. I don’t think I have had to pay over $20 (often much less) for any class. Peter Reinhardt’s technique of using olive oil rather than flour on my bench for stretching and folding sour dough and other lean doughs has been a game changer for me.

I too would love to attend the intensive King Arthur classes - on my bucket list. I do find their step by step blogs and their videos extremely useful that are on their website.

Do you have any bakeries on the island that makes good lean breads? If so perhaps you could pay them for a private lesson?

I too would like to find other hands on resources so hopefully other posters will have some suggestions.

You Miele Combi Steam is an awesome tool for bread making. My breads have gone to a new level using this oven. I hope you have read the Miele combi steam oven owners thread and there is also threads on bread making in a combi steam. I have asked all of the above Chef’s about using a combi steam for oven spring and none of them were familiar with a home version. They did give me some pointers about how long to steam etc. Enjoy!!
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
FWIW, I learned from this book:

I still have the stained paperback I was given as a teenager, and use it often.
lascatx
6 years ago
That was one of my earliest bread instruction sources too.

Bluprint has some good courses and might be a good way to get some more bread experience under your belt before traveling for a course. If nothing else, it would tell you where you can progress on your own and where you want to focus more attention. I have seen some in San Francisco -- just googled and saw one in Austin, TX and I'm sure there are a number in just about any place you want to visit. Maybe think about where you would like to go and work from there?
annie1992
6 years ago
Carol, I have that book too!

I learned from my Grandmother, who baked bread several times a week, and she lived with me when I grew up.

If you are in Hawaii, you definitely don't want to come to Michigan in December, but Zingerman's in Ann Arbor has some highly rated and reviewed classes on various subjects, and include something they call Bake-ations. I've threatened to attend the one on wood fired oven baking, but time, distance and that $600 fee have stopped me, LOL. They are here: https://www.bakewithzing.com/classes

Most of all, have fun!!!

Annie
lascatx
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I meant to mention that Bluprint has a half price special now. May only be through Christmas or the end of the year... I haven't seen anything that says how long the special price offer is good. You can join or gift a year for only $39.99. That allows you to watch and use all the classes in all areas, own 12 classes, get free shipping on purchases and get a discount on the purchases. You might even take up another hobby! (I did)
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beesneeds
6 years ago
Some schools with culinary programs, including baking/pastry, in Hawaii....

http://www.hawaii.hawaii.edu/culinary

http://www.leeward.hawaii.edu/culn

http://maui.hawaii.edu/culinary/

http://culinary.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/
bragu_DSM 5
6 years ago
go for it. if you don't, you will always wonder why you didn't. If it doesn't end up tripping that latent hidden 'trigger' ... no big whoop. you will find something else.

report back.
Annie Deighnaugh
6 years ago
Look on youtube for Father Dom videos...they are short and helpful.
aziline
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
You can also join the Bread Bakers Guild of America. Once a member there is a wealth of knowledge and recipes on their website as well as a quarterly newsletter and forum. They also have classes for members. In my opinion it is well worth the money.

The San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI) also holds 5 day courses. I've heard wonderful things it about from people on thefreshloaf(dot)com and am hoping to attend one day.
lascatx
6 years ago
Those are two I was thinking of that I had seen. Haven't done either but looked into the SF onoe.

Bread baking school?

plllog

Comments (11)

Kim G

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