• Artisan I: Systematic Approach to Bread: Learn the details of mixing, fermenting, shaping, and baking bread in this essential introductory course. The course covers baker’s math, ingredient selection and function, how mixing affects fermentation, and other bread baking fundamentals. Both enthusiasts and professionals gain deep understanding of the baking process. This course explains in detail the 10 major steps bread baking, discusses the major ingredients including flour technology and brief introduction the milling process, mixing methods, fermentation, baking, preferments, baker’s math, and more. 4 out of 5 days, students make baguettes in the kitchen. This really enables students to see the effect of mixing methods, preferments, protein content of the flour on the dough, see and feel how all those factors affect the extensibility and elasticity of the dough, the volume of the baked loaf, color of the crumb, and flavor. On day 4,learn to work with other flours and shapes to produce whole wheat bread, rye bread, multigrain, pan bread and braided egg bread. After completing Artisan I, you will have a solid grasp on the foundation of bread baking preparing you to move onto Artisan II: Baking Sourdough, Levain and Wild Yeast
In this workshop you will learn how to bake Baguettes, Egg bread, Pan Bread, Whole Wheat Bread, Multigrain bread and Rye Bread.
Starting days: March 2, 2020 ‖ March 30, 2020 ‖ April 6, 2020 ‖ June 8, 2020 ‖ June 15, 2020 ‖ July 27, 2020 ‖ September 14, 2020 ‖ October 26, 2020 ‖ November 2, 2020 ‖ November 9, 2020 ‖ December 7, 2020
• Artisan II: Baking Sourdough, Levain, and Wild Yeast: Artisan II builds off of all of the theory and skills learned in Artisan I and explores the intricacies of levain. Learn how various starters affect the flavor, texture and appearance of bread. Learn the advantages of and how to maintain different feeding schedules, 1 a day feeding, 2 a day feedings, 3 a day feedings. See how using liquid levain versus stiff levain as well as the quantity of levain in the final dough affects the working properties and flavor of the bread. This course focuses on shaping boules and batards, primarily using white flour so that you can really see, feel and taste the differences between the types of levains used. You will also produce sourdough rye, multigrain, whole wheat bread and challah (using commercial yeast). And to make sure you haven’t forgotten the baguette, you will make a baguette using both levain and commercial yeast. Retarding techniques are also explored. Upon completion of this course, you will have a deep understanding of how to produce, maintain starters, and create naturally leavened breads.
In this workshop you will learn how to bake several different Sourdough breads with liquid and stiff starters, San Francisco Sourdough, Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread, Sourdough Rye, Sourdough Multigrain, Sesame Semolina, Ciabatta, Sourdough with Walnuts and Raisins, Olive Bread, Challah, Baguettes.
Starting days: March 9, 2020 ‖ April 13, 2020 ‖ June 22, 2020 ‖ August 3, 2020 ‖ September 21, 2020 ‖ December 14, 2020
• Bakery Business Essentials: Our newest class offers an essential production of yeasted, sourdough and viennoiserie perfect for small-medium sized productions. It delves into the concepts required for equipment selection, layout and business aspects. Whether you are thinking about starting out or looking to find a new way to approach your current production, this class is perfect for you!
Starting day: TBD
• Advanced Bread with Didier Rosada: Think out of the bread box. This course challenges traditional assumptions and explores innovative bread-making techniques. Work with a variety of flours such a rye and spelt, and experiment with different retarding techniques. Even seasoned bakers are inspired by the knowledge and marketable skills gained from this workshop.
Starting Day: April 20, 2020
• Breads of the World with Didier Rosada: Only offered once per year! Discover the unique flavors and textures of breads baked around the world. Create exotic breads, including Portugese Sweet Bread, Germany’s Heigebrot , and Mexican bolillos, just to name a few. The vast array of breads covered in this course will help you explore your creativity and grow your business in an expanding market.
Starting Day: TBD
• Baking with Whole Grain, Ancient Grains, and Alternative Wheat: Satisfy the demand from your customers (and your own) for healthier, tastier bread. There is a growing awareness on the difficulty in digesting gluten for some consumers. Using alternative wheat such as Kamut® and spelt, as well as incorporating processes like sprouting and long fermentation will increase the digestibility of the grains and bread. In this course, students will make bread by integrating those techniques with whole grains, which make them more nutritious and easy to digest, and best of all, visually appealing and flavorful.
During this intensive, hands-on workshop, technical characteristics of specialty flours such as Kamut®, spelt, brown teff, and quinoa will be covered, as well as how to work with more accessible flours like whole wheat and dark rye. Students will be exposed to different types of preferments made with whole grain flours and precautions to take when using them. Some grains will be freshly milled on site, and some are sprouted to be added to various loaves.
This is more advanced class and is not designed for beginning bakers. Enrolling students need to have extensive experience in baking and a thorough understanding of the baking process, or they need to have taken two of our foundational bread classes, Systematic Approach to Bread, and Baking Sourdough, Levain, and Wild Yeast. To maximize the learning experience in this course, students should have knowledge on ingredient functionalities in bread, fundamentals of mixing and fermentation, as well as the concept of sourdough and how to perpetuate a starter.
Starting day: TBD
Please register online or download the 2020 Registration Form and email or fax to SFBI. If the class is full, please email customerservice@sfbi.com to add your name to the waiting list or select “Register Now” on the class you wish to enroll and it will redirect you to the waiting list page.
