What is a Workshop?

What makes a Sourdough Workshop so different?

We’ve taught a range of courses over many years and we’ve been credited by many of our students with inspiring and innovating the sourdough teaching world.  From the very first heritage grain sourdough courses almost a decade ago to our classic sourdough clinics, which were about troubleshooting sourdough bread issues; to our hugely popular international 1-week intensive Sourdough Diploma, and the 3-day beginners course and our weekend advanced hydration course, and the amazing RCGP Accredited course in Nutrition & Digestibility of Bread. After over a decade of teaching, I felt it was time to restructure the way I teach.

To find a way to share the Research & Development work with my students.

These workshops are a completely new way of teaching. It is about sharing not just how to make sourdough but teaching people a way of applying the incredible knowledge from studies in and around the science of fermentation & the gut microbiome.

We start with the science and develop incredible recipes and techniques that we share.

What Kind of courses are there?

There are two kinds.

• The Sourdough for Health Workshops focus on one specific area, such as IBS or Mental Health and our starting point is the research. It is more suitable for people with a specific health-related interest.
• The  Diploma starts with a formula we know.  The focus is on the application of the knowledge from the research to a known recipe. We will be reevaluating the flour, and creating a suite of the symbiotic recipe around the formulas. It is more suitable for beginners.

What to expect

In many ways, the workshops are more intimate and relaxed that a traditional sourdough course. It is about slowing down and taking time to explore as we are developing formulas together, to share.

Each development week has a specific focus and you will:

• Work closely with me over the week, gaining a deep insight into her passion for sourdough and absorbing her extensive bread and guts knowledge.
• Develop two new Sourdough bread recipes (formulas).
• Create a blend of grains to mill fresh flour as the base for each recipe.
• Learn how to optimise gut health by creating live foods – such as pickles, compotes, and cultured butter; so you will be fermenting a live (probiotic) accompaniment using seasonal produce, fresh from our organic gardens or from the farmers market.
• Visit a market and/or gardens.
• Have full access to our extensive collection of the most up-to-date research on the gut microbiome.
• Use any of the 1000+ books the sourdough library.
• Browse over 700 items from our bread history book collection (dating as far back the 16th century).
• Enjoy being part of the collaborations with the scientists and food producers that work alongside the school.
• Photograph and document each recipe and summarise the research papers, which are selected the base of the recipe.
• Share the recipes, inspiration and photography with on The Sourdough Club
• Take one of our renowned sourdough starters from the collection.
• Have the chance to get outside and enjoy the beautiful surrounding countryside each morning and enjoy some fresh air each day.
• Embark on a unique and innovative voyage into the world of bread and guts, learning how to make changes to your own diet and lifestyle for the better.
• Make some strong bread-loving friendships that will last you a lifetime.
• You will be given a 12-month GOLD access pass to the sourdough club (RRP £199)

• Gut Microbiome Testing
  If you would like to test your own gut microbiome at any point before or after the course you can do so here

Do I have to do the research? 

No. We will already have identified key papers around the subject – you are welcome to bring some of your own research but in the meantime, you can browse our extensive research database here.

Each workshop is unique.

It is an opportunity to join me and a small tutorial group where you will research, create and develop a sourdough bread and other recipes. You’ll have access to all of my years of research and our extensive bread library. Unlike the diploma’s this is a collaborative approach. It is more relaxed as we are developing formulas together, to share.

We’ll be creating a blend of grains, working with wholegrain heritage grains, and sprouted grain flours, and milling these grains to make fresh flour with lower gluten and optimally fermenting them to reduce gluten load and increase the nutrients. We’ll use grains such as barley or rye and poppy seeds, sunflower seeds. pumpkins, or beetroot. We’ll be creating the symbiotic accompaniments to eat with the bread such as pickles, ferments, cultured butter or cheese. It is about slowing down and applying the knowledge from the studies. It is time to completely immerse yourself in a world of sourdough, fermentation and the gut microbiome. During this week you’ll learn that the way we grow grain, fermentation, what we eat with our bread and how we eat our bread, impacts on both our physical and mental health. You’ll become connected to the incredible microbial world we live in.

Become Part of The School

It’s about making a difference. Being part of the School is about becoming part of a movement. At our core, we believe that translating research and applying the knowledge to recipes means that people can bake and eat together. This is at the heart of what I call a “beautiful disruption, that encourages people all around the world to connect to the soil, the farmer and the miller, and to bake bread that nourishes. Learning to make sourdough is the best way to change the paradigm of bread.”

Limited spaces

Whilst we endeavour to accommodate everyone who applies for a place on a workshop, spaces are limited and there are instances when we feel that a particular workshop is not suitable for you. Each application is reviewed on booking and we will be in touch within a few days to let you know if your application has been approved.

We look forward to welcoming you to the school.

 

Vanessa

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