Bake Beautiful Sourdough Bread — Even If You're a Beginner

YouTube is a wonderful resource. One video may teach you a perfectly good method, while the next recommends something entirely different. Both may work—but combining their advice can leave you confused and frustrated.

At Breaducation, we teach you why bread behaves the way it does, not simply how to follow a recipe. You'll discover how ingredients, hydration, fermentation, time, temperature, and dough size influence your results—and how the same principles apply to everything from pretzels to ciabatta.

In our hands-on classes, you watch demonstrations, practice every technique, ask questions, and receive personal coaching and constructive feedback.

Your instructor, John Durrant, is a Grand Champion at the North Idaho State Fair, with more than 100 ribbons earned at the North Idaho and Spokane Interstate fairs.

Our graduates have gone on to win fair ribbons themselves, introduce sourdough to local business menus, and even maintain a 270-day consecutive baking streak.

We don't just teach you to follow a recipe. We teach you to become a baker.

Imagine baking wonderful sourdough without maintaining a jar of starter, feeding it regularly, or throwing away perfectly good flour.

With the Mother Dough Method, you simply use a small portion of fermented dough from one batch to start the next.

No routine feeding. No discard. No jar of goop.

It's a simple, time-tested method that makes sourdough baking more convenient, economical, and forgiving.

Absolutely! No previous baking experience is necessary.

During class, you'll mix, handle, ferment, shape, and bake sourdough bread yourself, with demonstrations and individual guidance throughout the process.

You'll learn what properly developed dough looks and feels like, why fermentation matters, and how to recognize and correct common problems.

Our goal isn't just to help you bake one good loaf. It's to give you the knowledge and confidence to bake your next hundred.

No. Sourdough is made from wheat and contains gluten.

During long fermentation, natural enzymes called proteases break down some of the gluten, which is one reason many people find sourdough easier to digest. However, sourdough is reduced-gluten, not gluten-free, and is not safe for anyone with celiac disease or a wheat allergy.

We bring the sourdough experience right into your kitchen!

A typical class lasts approximately 2½ hours. When schedules permit, we're happy to stay longer to finish demonstrations, help you understand the feel of the dough, and answer your questions.

What you'll need:

• An oven
• Counter or table space for each participant
• A mixing bowl, preferably with a lid
• An apron, if desired

What Breaducation provides:

• Hands-on instruction and educational materials
• Pre-fermented dough ready to shape and bake
• Sourdough culture and ingredients for your next loaf
• Demonstrations, personal coaching, and troubleshooting

You'll experience the complete bread-making process, enjoy freshly baked bread, and prepare your own dough to bake the following day.

Classes are available for individuals, couples, families, and small groups. Invite friends and share the experience—and the cost!

Certainly! A private baking experience makes a memorable birthday celebration, anniversary activity, family gathering, or afternoon with friends.

We can customize your experience around traditional sourdough, ancient grains, European-style breads, pizza, or other baking interests.

Group pricing makes sharing the experience especially attractive. Instead of another dinner out, spend an afternoon learning a life skill you can pass on to your children and grandchildren.

Absolutely! We offer demonstrations and hands-on classes for libraries, schools, clubs, community organizations, businesses, and special events, including corporate team-building activities.

Our presentations generally begin with the 5-Minute Method, demonstrating how surprisingly simple sourdough bread-making can be. While participants enjoy freshly baked bread, we expand the lesson according to the group's interests and available time.

Topics and activities may include:

• Health and nutrition: Fermentation, ingredients, nutrition, and differences between traditional and commercial breads.
• Hands-on baking: Participants prepare their own dough using the ingredients, culture, and equipment we provide.
• Fermentation science: How microorganisms transform flour and water into bread.
• The hydration spectrum: How changing water content helps create grissini, pretzels, bagels, baguettes, bâtards, boules, focaccia, ciabatta, and pan de cristal.
• Sourdough culture: Establishing, preserving, and using a healthy culture, including the Mother Dough Method.

Corporate experiences can also incorporate teamwork, creativity, conversation, and friendly competition.

We adapt presentations to your audience size, schedule, and venue. Depending on the format, we may request tables for participants and a large monitor.

Contact Breaducation to discuss a customized program.

Choose a date on our online booking calendar. It shows only the dates still open with enough lead time for us to prepare your dough.

After you book, we'll send you a payment link.

Book a class

Cancellations & rescheduling:

• Cancel 14 or more days before your class: full refund.
• 3 to 13 days before your class: reschedule free to another date.
• Less than 3 days before your class: 50% refund.
• Rescheduled classes are non-refundable.

Hands-on classes work best with up to 12 participants, so everyone gets personal coaching. Demonstrations can serve about 30 people.

Planning something larger? Contact us and we'll design a format that works.

Travel within 30 minutes of Coeur d'Alene is complimentary for in-home classes and demonstrations.

Beyond that, travel is $0.75 per mile for the distance past the first 30 minutes.

For locations more than 2 hours away (such as Missoula or Spokane's outer areas), please contact us for a custom quote, which may include lodging.

All charges are quoted before booking. No surprises!

Yes! Give someone more than another kitchen gadget. Give them the knowledge and confidence to bake wonderful bread for years to come.

Breaducation gift certificates make thoughtful presents for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, newlyweds, and anyone who enjoys cooking or learning something new.

Contact Breaducation to arrange a gift certificate for a private baking experience.

Your Breaducation doesn't end when class is over!

Private classes, group classes, and demonstrations include a 30-minute follow-up Zoom session where you can ask questions, discuss your results, troubleshoot problems, and build on what you've learned.

You're also invited to join our Breaducation Companions community, where fellow bakers share their successes, challenges, photographs, and discoveries.

Our instructional videos, online resources, and additional courses offer opportunities to continue learning—from your first boule to baguettes, focaccia, ciabatta, and beyond.

We believe the best advertisement is a happy baker, and we're proud of what our students accomplish.

Read their reviews to discover what surprised them, what they learned, and how Breaducation helped them become more confident bakers.

Read Breaducation's Google Reviews

Absolutely!

Every month, Breaducation offers a free, live introductory sourdough class on Zoom. Learn the fundamentals, discover the Mother Dough Method, and ask your questions directly during the class.

We also share instructional videos on YouTube and offer additional online learning opportunities for those ready to explore bread-making in greater depth.

Whether you're simply curious about sourdough or dreaming of winning blue ribbons at the state fair, there's a place for you at Breaducation.

Register for our free monthly Zoom class

Explore Breaducation's baking resources