Sourdough Bread Weekend

Baking at Embercombe is about more than just the finished loaf.

Bread has been a staple food in our society for thousands of years, and bread making one of the most rudimentary forms of food processing. It has enabled us to dramatically improve the flavour, digestibility and nutritional value of grass, leading to a huge leap forward in our civilisation.

But in a society that is hungry for faster and cheaper means of production, we have been fed with bread that doesn’t nourish us, but taxes our digestive system.

Baking your own bread is the antidote to our fast throw away culture. It represents ‘real’ food, craft, skill and mindfulness.

Embercombe bakery offers the rare opportunity of an overnight stay included in our bread course. This enables us to experience the entire life cycle of a sourdough loaf and so gain a deeper understanding of the of the wild yeasts that transform raw dough into nourishing bread. It also provides a chance to drop into the tranquillity and sustainable ethos of Embercombe during the 2-day course.

Course Outline

Over the weekend you will gain a deep understanding of the benefits of making your own bread, with an in depth look into how industrial bread is harming our health and the health of our planet.

We’ll focus on sourdough breads, as these demonstrate some of the most nutritious and natural ways of baking. We will look at regular wheat and rye sourdough, and consider a variety of heritage wheats  – their advantages for our health and their application in the baking process.

What is Included

• An immersive two day experience of baking at Embercombe

• Beautifully prepared meals from the Embercombe Kitchen, using produce grown on our biodynamic and organic garden.

• Experience making sourdough pizzas baked in a our own outdoor wood fired oven

• Your own sourdough starter and recipe booklet complete with an overview of everything we will cover

This weekend is suitable for all baking abilities.

Please contact Kate our resident baker and course facilitator if you have any questions or to register your interest in future courses.

katemarton@embercombe.org