Book now for:
“Knead To Know” – A Sensory Journey to Artisan Baking
Artisan Baking classes.
THE ROMANCE AND SKILL OF ARTISAN BAKING
What are the characteristics of Artisan bread? During class one you will make a wild sour dough from scratch, learning how to feed them and developing the’ instinct’ to know when they are ready to be used. Tim will show you which equipment and the basic ingredients an artisan baker needs to make his product.
MAKE AND TASTE
During classes 2 to 4 Tim will demonstrate scaling, mixing, bulk fermenting, folding, diving, shaping , proving, scoring, steaming and baking, everything you knead to know for course six ‘make and taste’ class. He will demonstrate a selection of breads his bakeries are famous for such as barley, potato & rosemary, health seed bread, sour dough bread, multi seed health bread, cottage loaf, ciabatta, baguette, spelt bread, cabernet bread and naan bread.
PAIRING AND TASTING
In class 5 a bread pairing and tasting will take place. Participants will make bread at home using the skills Tim has shown them over the past 4 weeks and the class will select and taste the best bread of the course.
To book, call Rachel on 021 422 01 28 or email her at info@chefswarehouse.co.za.
Please read the Terms & Conditions.
TIM FAULL
In recent years the average person has become more and more switched on about “gourmet foods”. Sit down to a meal and sooner or later the conversational buzz turns to the topic of the flavours, textures and aromas on display before them. The wine arrives and you hear mention of the ‘bouquet, but, the moment the bread basket arrives, all you hear… even if it’s just for the first few seconds, is the quiet.
…no mention of the beautiful crust, the silky crumb or whether it’s dense or open. Not even a small mention of whether it has a mild or strongly fermented flavour. And so, my ears stop pricking and I turn back to my own meal.
To anyone but the artisan… the baker who shaped that loaf of bread, bread is a staple. To us, it’s an infinite miracle of instinctive reactions: knowing when the dough is mixed just right, when gluten formation is optimal; knowing when fermentation has peaked and the dough’s ready for baking; knowing that your loaf has baked perfectly from the echo you hear when you tap that crust.
For us baking bread’s not ‘staple’… it’s magic!
People ask me what gives the umph to my bread …to the uninitiated, it would be “that awful smell” in my kitchen …the techno’s will throw words like ‘starters’, ‘sours’ and ‘pre-ferments’ at you.
To me, it’s quite simple really…
Three ingredients…
But MY ‘babies’
...I feed them, I stir them, I touch them
Sometimes a taste tells me they’re failing and so I revive them…
My umph…
…that special touch to each and every loaf.
Just as the vintner (winemaker) and cheesemaker need to understand the characteristics of the different ingredients, how they work together, the chemical processes taking place and the impact which the environment has across the board, so too am I, as an artisan baker, driven to understand the bevy of chemical reactions when you embark on the simple process of adding water to flour, yeast and salt. Given the opportunity, I can wax lyrical about the role of enzymes, proteins, carbohydrates and yeast cells; I can even share with you the excitement of the fermentation process which develops those subtle flavours or how to get just the perfect crusty explosion of flavour when you take your first bite.
While it’s true that artisan baking is very much a science – to me, it’s my passion fully realised when I see that perfect kick just inside the oven and I stand back, smile stupidly and think: “Life’s Great!”