What I learned in baking school

Attempting croissants – and living to tell the tale

JILL WHERRETT

After critiquing croissants and sifting through Old Ottawa East’s baking history for my articles in previous issues of The Mainstreeter, I decided it was time to get my hands in some dough. Looking for expert guidance, I signed up for an online “Artisan Baking at Home” course with King Arthur Baking Company’s Baking School, which offers in-person, live online and on-demand video classes. (For some local workshops and Canadian online options, read on.)

Armed with a slew of new tools, I joined the Zoom class of about 18 students on a snowy November day here in Ottawa. Over three information-packed afternoons, we were immersed in baking techniques along with a smattering of science and food history, as friendly and skilled instructors led us through making crispy lavash, butter croissants and several types of bread.

Day 1 left me worn out after four hours of mixing, kneading, shaping (or rolling) and finally baking pane Siciliano with durum flour and lavash with whole wheat, as well as preparing détrempe (croissant base dough) and poolish (pre-ferment for baguettes). By early evening, my kitchen bore some resemblance to the snowy scene outside, as flour coated every surface.

On Day 2 we turned to croissant lamination, the meticulous process of rolling, folding and chilling to build hundreds of delicate layers. We also finished and baked our baguettes, learning how to shape and score the unbaked loaves, and how to set up our ovens to create hearth and steam effects to maximize “oven spring” (the rapid increase in size of the dough during the initial stage of baking). Our instructor, Jack, explained that baguettes are a relatively recent invention, emerging in 1920s Paris with the availability of commercial yeast, steam ovens and refined white flour.

On Day 3, having fed our starters on Day 1 and 2, we closed off with making sourdough bread, learning to shape and bake crusty round loaves and batards. And finally, the moment I’d been waiting for: rolling, cutting and baking our croissants. My pesky dough kept wanting to shrink back, but I managed to produce eight somewhat equal triangles to roll into croissant shapes.

I came away with pages of notes and practical insights—from calculating and reaching ideal dough temperature for baguette fermentation, to experimenting with different kneading and rolling techniques, to confidently handling a lame, the razor-sharp blade used to score loaves before they go in the oven.

The results? I was happily surprised by my success with croissants. Despite how intimidating the process seemed when a Cordon Bleu chef explained it to me last year, croissant-making proved less daunting — mostly a matter of patience and proper butter temperature. Though a bit misshapen, my croissants had good flakiness and the classic honeycomb interior.

Baguettes were another revelation. Again, my shaping was a little off, but the loaves’ appealing colour, crisp crust, and light feel, plus an open, irregular crumb came surprisingly close to a bakery product. Pane Siciliano was my only flop. While my loaf looked attractive with its pretty coiled exterior and buttery yellow interior from durum flour, it was overly hard. Perhaps not enough yeast or water, according to my instructor.

Hunkering down in a cozy kitchen learning new baking skills was a thoroughly satisfying way to spend some gray November days. And, even better, I still have a freezer full of the results.

Locally, several bakeries and cooking schools in and around Ottawa offer in-person bread making courses. Most are three- to four-hour classes, with ingredients and light meals or snacks provided. Here’s a sampling; check their websites for the latest offerings.

• Le Cordon Bleu on Laurier Avenue East periodically holds short courses and workshops, on topics such as sourdough bread making, boulangerie essentials and French bread making.
• Almanac regularly presents three-hour workshops (now at their new location on Beech Street) on making sourdough bread and sourdough pizza.
• Bread by Us, located on Smirle Avenue, offers evening workshops including Sourdough Baking for Nerds and Focaccia Baking for Beginners.
• Your Breadbox in Carp offers Learn to Make Sourdough and Learn to Make Croissant

Online classes based in Canada are another alternative. For example, Matthew Duffy, a Canadian baker and cookbook author, has various on-demand courses and videos, including Simplifying Baguettes, on his website. The yeast company, Fleischmanns, runs bakegood.ca, with Bake Good Academy, a free online baking school with short lessons from beginner to expert level. For more in-depth training, George Brown College Continuing Education offers several online teacher-led or self-directed classes, including Baking Arts and Breads.