The Baking Education Center: guest instructor classes

Baking Gluten-Free with Sue Gray

At last! We’ve persuaded our test-kitchen queen to share what she’s learned in developing King Arthur’s new line of gluten-free baking mixes. She’ll guide you through baking breads, cakes, muffins and more, all without wheat. For those who’ve had to go gluten-free, this weekend promises to change your life for the better. Please be aware that our teaching facility is not gluten-free. We’ll be baking and sampling with gluten-free products, but cannot guarantee any items prepared on site will be free of wheat contamination.

• Friday and Saturday, September 18 & 19, Friday, 2 to 6, Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm $250
• Saturday lunch is included.
• Sign me up!

Classic French Breakfast Pastries with James MacGuire

Join us for a weekend of celebrating breakfast with renowned baker, James MacGuire. The demonstration and class will cover both croissants and brioche. Hands-on class students will leave with their own pastries and breads, as well as the understanding of how to recreate them at home.

• Friday and Saturday, September 25 & 26
• Sign me up! Friday September 25 demonstration, 5 to 7 pm $40
• SOLD OUT! Saturday September 26 hands-on class, 9 am to 1 pm $150
• Sign me up! Both classes: $175

A Weekend of Baking with
White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier

Gingerbread Houses with Roland Mesnier

Spend an evening with Roland Mesnier, Executive Pastry Chef at the White House for 25 years. The highlight of the White House Christmas was the magnificent gingerbread construction Chef Mesnier made each year. Come see the secrets to planning, baking and building these splendid confections.

• Sign me up! Friday, October 2, 4 to 6 pm $60

White House Pies & Tarts with Roland Mesnier

After a lifetime of experimenting with tart crust and filling combinations, Chef Roland has some excellent tips to share with you on how to make beautiful tarts. Tarts made with sweet dough, All-American pies and individual tarts will be covered in this class, including Individual Yogurt Tarts with Fresh Fruit, Brioche and crème – Sour cherries, topped with sweet custard, Sunflower Tart with Mangoes and Pastry Cream, and Linzer Tart.

• Sign me up! Saturday, October 3, 9 am to noon, $150
• Sign me up! Both classes $195

Bread Baking in a Wood-Fired Brick Oven with Richard Miscovich

Spend the weekend learning the art of wood-fired bread baking
from artisan baker Richard Miscovich.

This class will focus on the special requirements of brick oven baking—baking with retained heat, firing schedules, heat saturation, oven management and steaming techniques. Oven construction will be discussed, including the proper amount of thermal mass for home or microbakery applications as well as fuel selection and wood management. A slide show will illustrate different styles of ovens from around the world as well as detailing the major steps of building a customized brick and mortar oven.

Students will learn to utilize the range of temperatures from a single firing as we bake pizza on Friday evening and explore two hearty hearth breads on Saturday. Other culinary uses of retained heat will be discussed.

Richard Miscovich teaches artisan baking at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island. He spends the summer in coastal North Carolina, growing a variety of grains and baking organic hearth breads at his brick oven microbakery. Since building his oven in 1996, Richard has been involved in the construction of several styles of wood-fired ovens.

• October 16 & 17, Friday 4 to 7 pm and Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm, BEC401 101609 $275
• Sign me up!

Baking Artisan Breads & Pastries with Ciril Hitz

Sweet and Savory Baking for Breakfast, Brunch, and Beyond

Muffins and bagels and Danish, oh my! Find out how easy it is to transform a few everyday ingredients into a kitchen full of artisan- quality pastries and breads that will surely be a welcome addition any family breakfast table or holiday spread. As inspiration for this class, Ciril Hitz has hand-picked a few of his personal favorite formulas from his soon-to-be released book, Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads. From quick breads like the Multi-Berry Muffin that are ready within the hour to more decadent enriched dough products such as a holiday Stollen to the flaky laminated layers in a Danish, this class presents the core concepts involved in baking breakfast breads and pastries. The formulas in this hands-on class will cover a wide range of techniques, such as creaming a muffin batter, mixing an enriched dough, and making a layered laminated dough. Additional treats include the provincial French Gibassier, hearty whole wheat bagels, and the almond-laced Bostock. A personalized copy of Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads is included in the cost of registration and will be sent out in November.

• SOLD OUT! Saturday, October 24, 9 am to 5 pm BEC407102409 $195

Holiday Chocolate Inspirations with Prize-Winning Pastry Chef En-Ming Hsu

Spend two days immersed in the world of spectacular chocolate desserts. The class will prepare chocolate recipes suitable for holiday entertaining from simple individual desserts to elaborate buffet desserts. With so many varieties of chocolate available to consumers now, emphasis will be placed on understanding how to select the right chocolate, and well as the techniques needed to ensure successful results. Students will also gain insight into how to plan and organize dessert preparation to minimize stress so more time can be spent enjoying the company of guests. Saturday lunch is included.

• Sign me up! November 6 & 7, Friday, 4-7 pm, and Saturday, 9 am - 4 pm, $275

Baking in a Wood-Fired Brick Oven with Jeffrey Hamelman

If you love artisan breads, spend the weekend learning the art of baking in our beautiful new wood-fired oven. Our own Bakery Director Jeffrey Hamelman, a Master Baker and author of the IACP award winning book Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes, leads the class in mixing dough, shaping loaves and firing the oven. Chef Hamelman will explain wood-fired baking techniques and help you create crackling, crisp loaves. Saturday lunch included.

• Sign me up! November 20 & 21, Friday 2-5 pm and Saturday, 9 am - 4 pm, $275