Anything but Basic Sourdough Bread

In Anything But Basic Sourdough Bread Course, Dan will guide you through the entire process of baking his flagship bread, Country, known for it’s open crumb structure, creamy texture, and deeply caramelized crust.

On day one, Dan will discuss in detail the many aspects of mixing, shaping, and baking, including dough hydration, flour blends, and whole grains. Participants will be hand-mixing their own batches of dough, under Dan’s direct supervision!

Dan will discuss the basics of whole grain and white flours, how to maintain a sourdough leaven (you’ll be feeding your own culture, and get to take it home to use however you’d like!) We will dive deep into how to shape the challenging, high-hydration breads Dan is known for. Students will learn Dan’s sophisticated yet simple shaping method, as well as discussing other techniques used at other bakeries.

Day two is focused on baking the breads made the day before. Dan will be instructing participants on how to bake breads with our stone-lined, digital Italian deck oven, as well as how to bake with a home oven, using a cast iron Dutch Oven, or firebrick- lined home oven.

Participants will get to use one of our Staub Dutch ovens during the class, to bake a loaf of their bread. Each participant will be scoring their own loaves before Dan loads them into the oven, and we watch the baking process happen in real time. Dan dives deep into the physics and functions of what occurs in the baking process, in real time.