Sourdough special

02 March 2013 10:00 - 03 March 2013 16:00

The tastiest, most digestible and nutritious bread possible

It’s no accident (or passing fad) that sourdough has come to define the artisan baker’s craft. It is, of course, the oldest way of baking, having raised the staff of life for millenia before industrial yeasts were isolated and commercialised. The ‘rediscovery’ of sourdough (in the Anglo-American world) as wonderfully tasty, textured and slow-ageing bread has coincided with scientific research showing conclusively that spontaneous fermentation of natural yeasts and bacteria can produce the most nutritious and digestible breads, often accessible to people who cannot stomach fast-made factory loaves.

To be able to make bread with just flour, water and salt takes time, patience and an understanding of the processes at work. This is where Sourdough Special comes in. Andrew Whitley introduced sourdough bread to thousands of people with his Russian rye and French country breads in the early 1990s and those breads started a movement. Look no further for foolproof instruction, thoughtful science and great results.

This course is for:

• people with some breadmaking experience who have become fascinated with sourdough and want to know all about it
• near beginners who don’t want to waste time with yeasted breads when sourdough seems to offer everything they want (but who may have been confused by over-complicated recipes)
• former Bread Matters students who’ve had a taste of the sour stuff on a basic course and need a proper fix
• cooks, chefs and other food workers who want to broaden their baking experience.

The course lasts:

Two days: 10 am to 5.30 pm; 9.30 am to 4 pm.

You will learn:

• how to start and maintain sourdoughs made from several types of flour with no fuss (so no pointless ‘feeding’)
• to manage the cycle of refreshment and use over various timescales that fit easily with bakers’ actual lives
• about the interactions of natural yeasts and lactic acid bacteria and how to manage acidity and proof time
• about the role of sourdough bacteria in modifying proteins and the importance of this for dough structure, eating quality and digestibility
• how to handle high water content sourdough breads to enjoy wonderfully chewy results

You will make and take home:

• six or seven different sourdough products and starters to continue the process indefinitely

You will also get:

• a signed copy of Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley
• an organic fairtrade cotton apron
• coffee, lunch and tea (all organic, with much of the food grown on the Macbiehill smallholding)
• a three-course dinner on the first evening (partners or friends can come too, for an extra charge).

‘A most enjoyable, fun and informative two days. Feel skilled up and ready to bake bread.’

‘I cannot begin to tell you what an unbelievably good time I had over the bread making weekend.  I can't stop telling people how good it was, I am becoming a real bread bore... If I were 10 years younger instead of being the old lady of the course I would be baking for my village.’

Cost: £415 (including VAT)

To book: Please call 01968 660449 or visit www.breadmatters.com