Course Description
Work with levains and poolish to capture the essence of French breads.
French baking with Sourdough
During the two-day course learn how to manage the sourdough leaven (levain) and use both wheat and rye levains to make incomparable rustic breads which keep for days, some with nuts and raisins added. The flagship loaf will be the rustic pain de campagne.
With the poolish enjoy a vast baguette workshop, and learn handskills for making French shapes. In yeasted pastries choose either croissants or brioche.
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Course Programme
| 10:00 am | Arrival, coffee, discuss programme |
| Make WHITE DOUGH for FOUGASSE & boules - before adding olive oil, cut off some for pate fermentée - cut off amount for boule - use rest for FOUGASSE, adding olive oil, plain or with olives |
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| Discuss LEAVENS - discuss terminology (LEVAIN) - keep unrefreshed leaven for Levain Baguette and p de Campagne - Refresh leaven, WHEAT SOURDOUGH (Pain au Levain) - demonstrate PANARY’s French levain method - refresh enough for tomorrow’s use |
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| Discuss Sourdough: What is it? Catching a wild yeast The role of yeasts and bacteria Routine refreshment Long-term keeping |
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| 11:00 am | Make LEVAIN BAGUETTE dough (hybrid) & make a typical pain de campagne with added rye, (raisins), walnuts - folds (discuss), fold the boule |
| 12:00 pm | Prepare Leaven/sponge for tomorrow’s Normandy Cider Rye Work the fougasse and the boules |
| 1:00 pm | LUNCH Reading/discussing/ notetaking about Sourdough Work the baguettes & the pain de campagne Finish baking, crusty in the French style |
| 4:00 pm | Make POOLISH for tomorrow’s baguette |
| 5:00 pm | Make CROISSANT Dough to be placed in refrigerator |
| 6:00 pm | Drinks in the bakery |
| DAY TWO | |
| 8:30 am | Paul to refresh levain for pain au levain |
| 9:00 am | Students inspect it |
| 9:15 am | Begin CROISSANT pastry laminations, butter in dough |
| 9:30 am | Make BRIOCHE dough |
| 10:00 am | Make NORMANDY CIDER RYE |
| 10:30 am | Make PAIN AU LEVAIN Continuing Croissant rolling/folding |
| 11:00 am | BAGUETTE doughmaking, methods (1) & (2) Brioche to refrigerator Fold pain au levain Fold Normandy Rye |
| 12:30 pm | Fold baguette doughs Make the croissants Pain au levain to proving baskets |
| 1:00 pm | LUNCH |
| Proving and shaping the doughs: baguettes, Normandy Rye, brioche Finish baking Refresh leavens Tour the Mill |
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| 5:30 pm | Course finishes |
