Looking back at this crazy year, it hasn’t all been bad. To be honest, without the first lockdown in autumn, I probably would have never found the time to finalise preparations to launch this venture: Selecting recipes, organising a venue, designing the logo, setting up the website. As soon as people where able to get out and get going again, I got overwhelmed by the high demand and the positive feedback I got.
Continuously improving the concept, I’m looking forward to the new year with new dates for the Artisan Bread Making Class as well as the Bavarian Pretzel Class scheduled up until April.
It really is time to finish up this crazy year, isn’t it? And isn’t great too, to have something to look forward to?
I’ve booked the kitchen of the Mt Eden Village Centre and scheduled new classes for 2021. Check out the new dates on the website and read about other updates below!
Artisan Bread Making Classes
I wasn’t quite happy with the two bread recipes that we made in this course. They were fairly similar and it was hard to explain the difference. Hence, I decided to take one of them out and put a beautiful ciabatta recipe in instead!
Pretzel making is also not part of this class anymore. There was just not enough time for such a complicate recipe. Bavarian pretzels really deserve their own class! And sourdough deserves the time it needs.
The format is still the same: Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm.
Enrol now for any of these dates or buy a gift voucher:
13 February
13 March
10 April
Bavarian Pretzel Class
The content of the class remains unchanged: dressed in a Dirndl, telling anecdotes about pretzels, explaining the science and safety of using lye, forming and twisting pretzels. Did I mention eating pretzels fresh from the oven when they are still warm?
But instead of Fridays, these classes have now moved to Thursdays (6 pm to 8.30 pm), so they don’t cut into anyone’s precious weekend!
Enrol now for any of these dates or buy a gift voucher:
21 January
18 February
18 March
15 April
Wood Fired Oven
As a goal for 2021, I would like to explore baking bread in a wood fired oven. The idea of being outdoors and finishing an afternoon of making bread with an awesome wood fired pizza dinner sounds fabolous! Unfortunately, I have never used such an oven before.
If you have access to a wood fired pizza oven (or know someone who does), I would love to hear from you for some initial experimenting!
For the new year, I am also planning a multi-day baking retreat. While learning about the art of bread, we are spending our days in a tranquil and secluded venue in the greater Auckland area, complementing the meals we prepare together with the delicious creations we’ve baked during the day.
Due to the social nature of both my Artisan Bread Making Classes and the Bavarian Pretzel Classes, it impossible for me to run these safely under Alert Level 2 or higher. Although there are no more than 10 people in one class, physical distancing cannot be maintained. Also, we usually touch a lot of the same surfaces and share the spectacular food we create!
The changes in Alert Levels are unpredictable and come with fairly short notice. While many of us already struggle with this on a personal level, it makes it even harder, if you’re trying to run a business and plan ahead.
Therefore, I have made the difficult decision to put all classes on hold until the end of this year. I will contact all participants in the coming days to offer a full refund.
I will review the future of The Art of Bread NZ – Artisan Bread Making Classes and Bavarian Pretzel Classes after the summer holidays in the new year.
Stay safe and keep enjoying amazing sourdough bread,
With New Zealand back in lockdown, it is not yet clear if I will be able to teach the upcoming Artisan Bread Making Classes. In the likely event that they have to be cancelled, I will offer either a full refund or hold the credit until this is all over and classes are possible again. I will contact all participants closer to time for their preferred option.
In the meantime, we’re back to staying at home and baking sourdough bread just for the family. At least my past students are now better prepared for the prolonged time at home than they have been during the first lockdown!
That’s me for now! Stay safe and send photos of your baked goodies!
My little last minute home made mock-up sign has officially retired now that the new 2 meter high monster of a banner arrived. Not sure how I will manage to put this up and down on my own, though. Even the heels on my boots didn’t help. Oh, well…
The first artisan bread making class was a huge success. Over three nights, we followed the bread making process from the sourdough starter to forming and baking the loaves. While waiting for the bread to rise in the oven, we were clearly having fun rolling pretzels!
The next whole day class will be this Saturday from 10am to 3pm and there are still a few last spots available. So, be quick and enrol now!
On the weekend, I’ve turned on the ovens in the Mt Eden kitchen for the first time. Family and friends have gathered to help me practice the artisan bread making class as well as the Bavarian pretzel class.
In the shortened version of the class, we’ve managed to get through all five recipes, tested ovens and equipment, and ate a lot of pretzels – obviously!
The first actual Bavarian Pretzel Class this Friday is already fully booked. I hope you’re as excited as I am for this to finally take place!
