If you have ever admired a perfect sourdough loaf and wondered whether you could actually make one yourself, Bread Ahead has come up with a rather tempting place to start. This September, the Borough Market bakery is celebrating Sourdough September with a new 90-minute Sourdough Starter School, alongside its existing range of more in-depth baking courses.
Here are five things to know.
1. You can learn the basics of sourdough for £25
Bread Ahead’s new Sourdough Starter School takes place at Borough Market and lasts 90 minutes.
Rather than committing to a full-day baking course, this is designed as an accessible introduction. You will learn how to create a sourdough starter, how to look after it and what is actually happening during the fermentation process.
There is hands-on baking knowledge, some science and, importantly, plenty of tasting.
2. You’ll be learning from a bakery that takes sourdough very seriously
Bread Ahead started at Borough Market in 2013, and sourdough was one of the bakery’s original products.
Perhaps the best part of the story is Bruce.
Bruce is Bread Ahead’s 13-year-old sourdough starter, named after Canon Bruce Saunders, who blessed the starter when the bakery opened. It has since been used to produce countless loaves as well as generations of smaller “baby Bruce” starters.
It is quite possibly one of London’s more unusual long-serving residents.
3. There are bigger courses if 90 minutes isn’t enough
The £25 Starter School is very much the entry point.
Bread Ahead also runs an Introduction to Sourdough Baking half-day course for £110 and a Complete Sourdough Baking full-day course for £220.
For anyone who becomes completely obsessed, there is even a three-day Guide to Sourdough Bread course at Wembley for £550.
There is also a two-day Sweet Sourdough Baking course covering the more indulgent side of fermented baking.
4. You can learn from home too
You do not have to travel to Borough Market or Wembley to get involved.
Bread Ahead offers a collection of £25 online video masterclasses, including Introduction to Sourdough, Sourdough Discard, Sourdough Flatbreads and Sweet Sourdough.
The bakery is also sharing recipes for making your own sourdough starter, a no-knead sourdough loaf and rye sourdough.
It could be a good option if you fancy trying sourdough without turning your kitchen into a temporary bakery school.
5. It’s a lovely excuse for a Borough Market day out
The location makes this particularly appealing.
Book a 90-minute session, learn how to keep your own sourdough starter alive and then spend the rest of the day exploring Borough Market, wandering along the Thames or eating considerably more food than you intended.
At £25, the new Starter School also feels like an interesting London experience rather than simply another cookery course – and it could make a good present for anyone who is permanently talking about fermentation, artisan bread or the state of their starter.
Bread Ahead’s Sourdough Starter School takes place at Borough Market and costs £25 for a 90-minute session.
Book the Sourdough Starter School
For the full range of baking courses and workshops, visit Bread Ahead.