Sourdough Course Reviews

I spent the most amazing 3 days with Vanessa and a wonderful small and perfectly formed group of people on the June Bread and Guts course.
Vanessa's knowledge is incredible and inspiring... she has an ability to connect and communicate with people of all levels to ensure all understand and move forward. The school itself is beautiful everything in it has its place and seems to fit perfectly its a joy to cook and prepare food without the pressure of life and in such a lovely environment with such lovely people.
I learnt so much in three days it has ignited something in me to find out more and i have a need to learn and stay close to the Sourdough School, i am so excited about the journey I can take with what i have learnt and what i can learn.

In summary an inspiring and beautiful three days, worth the time, money and commitment, the whole experience stole my heart I can't wait to come back Xx

With her vibrant stories, passion for fermented bread and a stunning amount of knowledge Vanessa is able to turn a group of strangers into a group of befriended sourdough addicts within two days.
This course was just the beginning of our personal health- and sourdough stories. I look forward to the follow-up in 12 months.
In the meantime the app-group created for this course buzzes with questions, pictures of freshly baked loafs and supportive messages.

Absolutely amazing and useful because it's not a course about bread, it's a course about sourdough: its features, its beneficial advantages, the factors that affect the way it works and how to control them. In other words the essential knowledge you must learn before approaching to baking, the real starting-point.
An enlightening experience at a technical and even at a human point of view.
Many thanks and congratulations to Vanessa, who is truly a great great Master!!!

The Diploma Course at the Sourdough School was literally a dream coming true. I wanted to learn how to be intuitive about sourdough... I wanted to learn how to feel it... I was already baking ok bread, but it was white and didn't have that much personality. I have been sick for quite a while and was very apprehensive about a whole week away from home. The phone interview with Vanessa was reassuring... She was even warmer than I was used to on the Instagram videos. I had no reason to fear, as the group had been handpicked and we all fell in Love with each other! And the school...I felt that I had already been there in the past!!! After the first couple of days, I felt at home... Vanessa as a teacher is a delight! Her knowledge about the science and art of delicious bread that nourishes body and soul is incomparable and I drank every word and every movement! We learned all the recipes in the plan, as well as how to include more fermentation and sourdough into other preparations that were more unexpected. There was laugh, there were tears, there was food and a big family around a big table.
I learned so much... I made friends that I miss and talk every day, I bake several times a week... I feel like I found myself again in The Diploma Course at the Sourdough School was literally a dream coming true. I wanted to learn how to be intuitive about sourdough... I wanted to learn how to feel it... I was already baking ok bread, but it was white and didn't have that much personality. I have been sick for quite a while and was very apprehensive about a whole week away from home. The phone interview with Vanessa was reassuring... She was even warmer than I was used to on the Instagram videos. I had no reason to fear, as the group had been handpicked and we all fell in Love with each other! And the school...I felt that I had already been there in the past!!! After the first couple of days, I felt at home... Vanessa as a teacher is a delight! Her knowledge about the science and art of delicious bread that nourishes body and soul is incomparable and I drank every word and every movement! We learned all the recipes in the plan, as well as how to include more fermentation and sourdough into other preparations that were more unexpected. There was laugh, there were tears, there was food and a big family around a big table.
I learned so much... I made friends that I miss and talk every day, I bake several times a week... I feel like I found myself again in this experience. It was much more than I could hope for... I am forever grateful! ???

A thought provoking and challenging course. After a week at the sourdough school I have learnt new skills, have become more confident in my approach to baking and have developed my understanding about how food affects not only our physical well being but our mental health as well. I also met some really lovely people too.

At the beginning of March I attended the 1 week bread/ nutrition and digestion diploma course having previously ( 3 years ago) loved a one day sourdough clinic which had really inspired me.
My first impression on returning to the Sourdough school was how far it has come. Vanessa now has a fantastic teaching space which is super well thought out and has a wonderful energy.
The group was so varied, with different specific interests which Vanessa managed to address at all times so that we all felt the course was custom made for us.
Personally it refined my bread making skills and reinforced ideas that I had been thinking about on nutrition and digestion. I learnt so much, made a room full of new baking friends and loved every minute

I got so much out of my visit to the Sourdough School. As self taught, there were a lot of gaps in my knowledge and this surgery day helped me to join so many dots. I am not quite there yet but I am hopeful and also braver. Thank you!

I attended the Nutrition and Digestibility of Bread and the Gut Microbiome one day course last weekend and had a fantastic day. Vanessa welcomed us into her home and wonderful kitchen and shared her incredible knowledge and resources. She provided a delicious lunch with incredible sourdough (of course), fermented foods and fresh ingredients and the day was structured so we had time for a walk after lunch. She also gave us some starter to take home and access to an incredible amount of research, resources and recipes online. I learnt loads and met some really lovely people too. I came away inspired and eager to share the knowledge with my clients, friends, family.
I would recommend this course if you are keen to understand why sourdough is so nutritious, the history behind industrialisation of cereal growing & the bread making process and the problems this has caused and want to learn about the importance of our gut microbes and how to keep them well fed.
Thank you so much Vanessa, your passion for what you do is inspirational!

Thank you for an amazing day. As a doctor I believe that nutrition is key to health and wellbeing. Gluten and bread is often maligned nowadays, however as your course wonderfully demonstrates they are not evil per se, rather it is the changes that have occurred to wheat and the bread-making process that are causing harm, and if we can return to traditional methods of making bread with organically grown wheat (and heritage grains) we can turn bread back into what it was meant to be - a living and life-giving food!

I simply wanted to thank you for a wonderful day last Saturday. It was utterly inspirational, and hugely enjoyable. Your enthusiasm, coupled with your lively teaching method, are infectious. My wife said I didn’t stop talking about it for hours! As I write this I am refreshing the starter I brought from the School, as well as the rather sad “mother” of the one you tasted on Saturday. I think it will return to life - I did apologise to it as you suggested!
Thank you, once again, for a memorable day. I am desperate to get baking again. I hope you are having a wonderful time in Italy and gaining as much inspiration as we all did from you.

What a fantastic week we have had - 7 days of knowledge sharing, laughter and friendship, becoming a real sourdough family and of course with lots of sourdough making. I feel so privileged to have been shown not just how to make fantastic bread but the principles behind it and with a journey into understanding so much more about digestion and healthy eating. Vanessa is a great teacher - she is passionate, affectionate and demands your attention. As students we were nurtured as well as the sourdough starter - given sustenance, space, exercise and energy. I have come away energised at a time when I step onto a new pathway that will involve taking this knowledge far and wide. Thank you Vanessa for your friendship and your effort.

I went to the Sourdough School in October of 2018. I traveled to Northampton from Alaska. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet Vanessa and to learn from her in her beautiful school and garden. I am happily baking back at home today and the website is a fantastic tool as well. My son, Iver, loves watching her video tutorials and is also baking bread using Vanessa's methods. Beautiful food, location, students, and learning environment. Thank you for all the hard work! Her assistant Lucy was also so very helpful in answering questions and helping me plan the trip. Lucy helped me arrange a tour of the local vineyard. That was so much fun and I learned so much! With Vanessa's help I was able to get the starter home healthy as well. Hope to see you all again one day. Much love. Lacy

My brother bought me the book for my birthday but I was keen to see sourdough breadmaking in practice - so it was natural to choose this course. Sadly, Vanessa told us that she won't run the one day course in future. I fully understand why so feel especially lucky to have attended the last one. The loaves I've made since then are extremely edible, thanks to Vanessa. I'm sure there is lots of room for improvement but am now feeling more confident about sourdough baking.

Faced with having to give up bread because of a gluten intolerance, little did I know when I went searching for a book on sourdough, that the book I chose would lead me down such an exciting path of exploration. ‘The Sourdough School’ is unlike any cookery book I had read before and I realised I was going to have to really sit down and study this one, rather than choose a recipe and start cooking. My husband was so entranced by my enthusiasm that he offered the 2 day Sourdough for Health to me as my 60th birthday present. I can only say that this was like no other cookery course I had been on. Right from the word go, Vanessa entranced us with her infectious enthusiasm for the world of sourdough and fermentation and how it could improve our health but also how enjoyable it could be. Our group gelled really quickly and I felt I had joined a community of like-minded passionate people. We ate the most beautiful food for lunch and Vanessa’s generosity with her recipes and experience knows no bounds and the two days sped past. The course did not end on Sunday evening as we also have access to a detailed website with background research, detailed ‘how to’ pages and recipes. I cannot thank Vanessa enough for starting me on my sourdough journey and for her passion to share sourdough with everyone.

Vanessa is a generous, inspiring and passionate woman, her enthusiasm is contagious and her knowledge is immense! Her warmth and kindness radiates out of her and her cookery studio! It’s impossible not to catch the sourdough bug! Come prepared to be challenged and encouraged to build your skills and leave loving having learnt how to create fantastically simple, yet complex delicious dishes! I will definitely be putting these skills into action! Thank you Vanessa and your team

I would recommend the school to anyone who is serious about making a good loaf. The venue is great, as is the food, and Vanessa is inspirational. I left feeling exhausted but resolute and 11 days later ( after many mishaps) I produced two respectable loaves. Happiness is a decent sourdough loaf!

Vanessa is truely passionate about sourdough baking and passing on her indepth knowledge. Thanks to her generousity she invited people to apply for the Sourdough Sisters course. I know we all felt very privledged to have this special opportunity to gather as a group to learn about making sourdough and the nutritional and digestability benefits of the bread. We came from different backgrouds but our objectives were the same. We all wanted to share our knowledge in our community with people we work with. I volunteer in a cafe that provides training for young people with additional support needs This cafe was set up as there was no training for these young people. Therefore no chance of gaining skills to gain life skills and or employment. We don't have a bakery in our town that makes sourdough bread. Everyone is excited at the prospect of learning how to make sourdough. This would not have been possible without the generousity of Vanessa. We are planning on starting with pizzas. However on the course Vanessa discussed starter / leavain management, impact of different flour, water temperature importance of dough temperature developing the dough,shaping, baking and then we all gathered around the table and had a delish lunch. We learnt how many different things we could do with the basic recipe from her book loaf of bread, pizza, bread sticks, crumpets and flat breads. Moreover Vanessa shared her knowledge on the digestibility and nutrional aspect of sourdough bread. As we are going to share our knowledge within our community she discussed how we can best impart the knowledge we have learnt on the course Furthermore we have been supported by very generous flour millers Gilchesters, Marriages, Doves, Rude Health and Craggs&Co Thank you so much Vanessa I am really looking forward to moving forward We are in the planning stages at the moment. A really fantastic opportunity I felt we had a really special group of people all with infectous enthusiasm and we have made baking friends for life. I know the young people and their mentors will enjoy learning to make sourdough and get a real sense of satisfaction, self worth and achievement. Vanessa is a passionate,generous, extemely knowledgeable and energetic teacher. The Usual Place Cafe and I are so very grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much Liz

Inspirational and encouraging, made sense having read the book beforehand but wonderful to go away and reread the book and try and emulate Vanessa’s skill ....or not in my case! Practice will be needed but totally inspired. Thank you for a great day with wonderful fellow participants.

I attended the one-day Sourdough class on the weekendand thoroughly enjoyed every minute. The hands-on step by step process as instructed by Vanessa was ideal as I got to familiarise myself with how it should look, feel, smell and taste along the way. Recommend the Sourdough School to anyone who is wanting to master the world of Sourdough.

The weekend I spent at the Sourdough School learning from Vanessa as part of the Sourdough Sisters course was unforgettable. The school is beautiful and inspiring, but relatable to a home environment where many of us would be taking our skills to practice on our own. Vanessa is extremely knowledgeable and passionate. She is an excellent teacher! The way she uses metaphors, hands-on instruction, visuals, etc. has helped me remember more complex concepts of sourdough baking. The course demystified many parts of sourdough while taking my understanding deeper at the same time. I am so grateful. Thank you, Vanessa!!