As a Latin and history teacher, Ms. Gardner loves learning and teaching about all things ancient...including the ancient, millenia-old art of making delicious sourdough bread.
This hands-on class will teach you all the fundamentals of making bakery-quality sourdough. You will learn how to maintain a sourdough starter (it's actually way less high-maintenance than it seems) and practice all the essential steps of the sourdough bread making process: creating a leaven, mixing the dough, autolyse, stretching and shaping your loaf, proofing, scoring and finally...baking! It might seem like a daunting process, but once you get the hang of it, it is such a fun, rewarding and even meditative activity. Plus, you always end up with a few loaves of delicious, healthy bread that you can eat right away or slice up and freeze for later. That's not to mention all the fun recipes you can make with your leftover fermented starter.
Each participant will go home with:
- a loaf of sourdough that you have mixed, stretched and shaped in class (to proof overnight and bake)
- your very own sourdough starter (that can be infinitely refreshed and used to make more loaves)
- a written guide to the breadmaking process that outlines all the basics we learn in class
- a few of Ms. Gardner's favorite bread recipes to try out! (highlights include pumpkin-polenta-date bread and parmesan-leek-garlic bread)
This class can be hosted in your home or online and can take place over the summer or on a weekend during the school year. Each participant only needs to provide their own mixing bowls and a loaf pan or proofing basket (Ms. Gardner will fill you in on what works and can always lend you supplies). Sourdough starter and all other ingredients will be provided. If online, Ms. Gardner will arrange a pick-up point for the supplies you need.
P.S. A quick history of sourdough: the oldest loaf of sourdough ever excavated dates to about 3700 BCE. However, recent archaeological evidence suggests that hunter-gatherer cultures were making bread using a fermented starter 14,400 years ago! All bread was "sourdough" (i.e. made with a fermented starter) until commercial yeast revolutionized the bread baking process in the 19th century, making it much faster and more efficient. But sourdough has maintained a loyal following - for its taste, simple ingredients and its nutritional and digestive health benefits.
