Excellent course, helped to dispel a lot of commonly held beliefs in sourdough making, discussed the science and culture as well as lots of hands-on experience; John gets you doing everything from mixing to different shaping techniques and finally using the long peels to put the loaves in their very impressive Scotch oven! Highly recommend.
Almost everyone eats bread & drinks wine, but does that drive us to make our own bread and wine. While a minority of us will, others will seek out seminars & workshops to better understand the complexity of how the most delicious breads & wines are created.
Yesterday my wife & I attended the most incredible & fascinating bread making 'hands on' workshop at RedBeard Bakery in Trentham. Starting at 10am, it ran through until 4,30pm stopping only for half an hour , with a delicious lunch provided...and unlimited coffees.
Master Baker & Owner of RedBeard is John, a man of incredible knowledge & so much passion he shares about true artisan breadmaking. Wiser than his years, John led us all though an amazing hands on discovery of bread making going back over thousands of years. John's passion had him talking and explaining the creation of leaven, the true traditional cultivated yeast essential for breadmaking. & the health benefits of organic wholemeal flours to create stunningly delicious breads....of which all of us in the small class of four made several different types of loaves. We took home at least 20 loaves which all of our neighbours loved.
Making artisan organic bread at home is a time consuming passion, and like wine making it is complex.....however gaining an understanding how real stoneground wholemeal breads are made is truly a wonderful way to spend a day with passionate John. He will take you back in time to the historic origins of breadmaking. Add to this the hands on experience of making your own leaven, kneading and preparing your own bread dough, then baking your own loaves into their 1880's original woodfired oven, then enjoying the bread you made is a fantastic experience.
I can highly recommend the RedBeard Bakery workshop in Trentham as a day to remember, and well worth the cost!