Five day Bread Making class with Richard Bertinet
Five day bread making course with
Richard Bertinet
Our 5 day breadmaking course is our flagship or Rolls Royce class. It is the one that entices you from all corners of the globe and, though we say it ourselves, it really is a fantastic week. With thanks to chrisdaviesphotography.com (for most of the shots taken while he was with us on the class), here is a look at the full five days and what some of you have had to say about it…..
Day 1 – An Introduction to Breadmaking (the Bertinet way!)
Day 1 is a vital part of the course where Richard makes sure that you have got the basic techniques on board. Whether you are new to bread making, new to his techniques or even if you have been working from the books for some time there is plenty to learn. Lots of individual attention but all of it good fun!
By the end of the day you will have created fougasse (and flashed your first fougasse grin!) bread sticks, foccaccia, tin loaves and prepared a flamiche for lunch.
Day 2 – French Breads
Day 2 has a distinctly French feel. You will learn how to make a classic baguette, epis and pain de campagne. But more importantly you will start to learn about some of the key themes that run through the week.
The first is working with ferments as we look at how using a poolish can develop the flavour of your bread. Then there is dividing and the key skill of moulding which takes practice, practice and more practice and is something Richard regularly reinforces with our own team of bakers. You will also start to learn how to use a lame correctly and how to bake with steam.
Day 3 – Italian Breads
Day 3 develops both the idea of working with a ferment (though as today has an Italian theme, it is a biga, for the ciabatta) and the moulding work.
We also cover filled breads and look a little closer at working with inclusions.
By the end of the day you will have created piles of beautiful authentic ciabatta, roasted tomato and pesto bread, bread swirls with parma ham and pine nuts, grissini and more.
Day 4 – Starting your sourdough
Dark doughs and Sweet doughs
On day 4 we start the work we will complete on day 5 and take the first steps towards our sourdough. But we also spend day 4 looking at the differences in working with darker flours and the process of enriching doughs with butter, sugar and milk to create sweet doughs.
You will learn how to handle wholemeal and spelt doughs, how to make brioche, baguette viennoise, fruited tea loaves and even doughnuts.
Day 5 – Sourdoughs and other slow doughs
Day 5 is all about sourdough. There is a bit of theory but also a lot of practical work covering white sourdough, rye sourdough and wholemeal sourdough.
You will be perfecting moulding techniques, turning out beautiful loaves from your proving baskets and practising loading them into an oven to bake with steam and produce a fantastic crust.
The Trimmings
At the end of each day, the class gathers to make lunch. Something different everyday but always something to complement the bread you have been working on….
…flamiche with some left over white doughs, hanger steak to stuff in a freshly baked baguette, pizza of course on the Italian breads day plus some smoked salmon, rocket and roasted cherry tomato pasta, tartiflette or perhaps some soups for dunking.
It’s time for a well earned glass of wine and a chance to digest what you have learned that day with your fellow bakers. Richard is on hand to answer any queries you might have and to chat about bread and baking in all its aspects.
What you think about it…
This is an example of the lovely unsolicited feedback we have for the 5 day bread course…..
“I just wanted to write to you to say how much I enjoyed the bread making course last week. It really was a most relaxing, inspiring and rewarding experience, and it has certainly changed my view of bread. I will never buy or eat sliced bread again, and I very much hope that I will not be tempted to spend money on other people’s speciality bread either! I have made a few baguettes over the last few days, and rather surprised everyone with the results. Everything you said to us last week makes perfect sense – and the results are very rewarding.
I am so glad that I stayed for the whole course. Everything seemed to make much more sense by Friday, as you wisely predicted, and I found the chat at the end of the course really useful….
Finally, I thought that the course was extremely well designed and put together, and it would be difficult for me to suggest any changes or improvements. Breakfast, coffee & prunes, and a delicious lunch were a real treat, and I can only guess how much work you and your team had put in behind the scenes. The logic and content of the programme was perfect in my view. Jess gave me a piece of your ferment on Friday, and it has already been pressed into service, and refreshed!
Many thanks to both you and your team for a really delightful and enjoyable five days in Bath. I know that there are other bread making courses around, but for me there can only be one – as I will happily tell my friends.”
and the nitty gritty…
Want to find dates for 2019
Hello – 2019 dates as far as planned are available to view on the website. We look forward to welcoming you to the kitchen in 2019.
Hello, wanted to find the time schedule for the classes starting on the 7th please ;)
Hello Anita
Our 5 Day Bread Making course commencing on 7th January 2019 starts at 10am and will finish around 3.30 – 4pm each day. Please do let us know if you have any further question about our courses.
We hope to be able to welcome you to the Kitchen early in 2019.
With kind regards
Carrie
Hi. I am so excited to join the bread making course at the 9th march. I hope my English is good enough to understand all the instructions. I am on a vegan diet since 5 years now but like to learn how to make all kind of breads you offer during the week. But I also hope that it will be no problem if I avoid animal products during lunch. I don’t need extra food. I really hope it will not bother you.
Best wishes, Anke from Germany
Hello Anke
Many thanks for getting in touch with us and letting us know that you are on a vegan diet. That is no problem for lunch we will have alternative options for you. On the course, on day 4 you learn all about sweet doughs which does involve eggs and butter, are you happy to work with these ingredients?
We very much look forward to welcoming you to the Kitchen.
With kind regards
Carrie
Hi Carrie. I am completely fine with that. I will not eat it but it is okay to work with these ingredients. I’ll be there with a friend of mine and I think we’ll have fun. No worries.
Perfect, thank you for confirming this. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
With kind regards
Carrie
Hi!
Im interested in the October course, since I will be visiting from San Francisco CA I will need alternative places to stay. Any reccomendations?
Hello There are some accommodation suggestions on our website Accommodations page: https://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/accommodation-in-bath/
The Abbey hotel offers a special rate for our customers on the 5 day course. If you email them to enquire do let them know you are coming to do a course and they can give you the correct rates.
You could also try looking at the local tourist board accommodation page here https://visitbath.co.uk/where-to-stay/
Do let us know if you need further assistance. best wishes Jo
I hope I can join a 5-day course soon!! I live in Patagonia and enrolling in one of your courses would be a dream came truth. Please let me know about the next one once you schedule them so that I can start planning my trip in advance!!
Hello Alejandra
Many thanks for your message and interest in our classes. We have scheduled Richard Bertinet’s 5 Day Bread Making course into the first part of 2022. The courses with places still free on them commence on:
Monday 11th October 2021
Monday 22nd November 2021
Monday 10th January 2022
Monday 7th March 2022
These can all be booked directly online through our website (https://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/product-category/classes/), or you are wlecome to call us in the office and we can take the booking for you.
If you are looking for a date after this, do let us know as we will be planning further dates soon.
With kind regards
Carrie Bell
The Bertinet Kitchen
12 St. Andrew’s Terrace, Bath, BA1 2QR
Telephone: 01225 445531 – Fax: 01225 337533
http://www.bertinet.com
[email protected]
Richard Bertinet – BBC Food Champion of the Year
Hi there, Im interested in it, and planning the trip to UK for it in May, can you share any details to me? Im from HK and do not have not much bread baking experiences. thanks
A have great interest in baking and searching a good course for me, please send me the details if you have any for international students. Iam from India and a home chef with almost 30 years of cooking with love experience, also working with a small catering business. Thanks
Hello Anju
Many thanks for getting in touch with us.
Details of all out classes can be found directly on our website thebertinetkitchen.com
Hopefully you will find a course to suit you there.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
With kind regards
The Bertinet Team