Using your loaf: If I can learn how to bake bread, anyone can

I have a theory — there are two kinds of people, those who like to cook and those who like to bake. I’ve always considered myself more of a cook. That said, I was intrigued when I stumbled across an artisanal bread-baking workshop. How difficult could it be to make bread from scratch?

So I found myself sitting around a big table overlooking the bustling main street in Maboneng, Johannesburg, one Saturday morning, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. We had a common purpose: to learn the art of baking the kind of bread you only find in Europe or niche artisanal cafes.

Babette Kourelos apprenticed under French master baker Gerard Rubaud in Vermont in the US. Upon returning to SA she started Babette’s Bread and settled in Maboneng about five years ago. She still bakes fresh bread for Service Station in Melville every week, but of late concentrates more on bread-baking classes and consultations.

Kourelos offers workshops for beginner, intermediate and advanced bakers. She also offers children’s workshops, private home workshops and speciality-bread workshops.

We started off our beginner class by making dough. We used locally sourced stone-ground flour that retains all the nutritional value of the wheat. When you interrogate the realities of mass production, the differences between commercial and artisanal flour are scary.

Kourelos uses the traditional methods for baking bread that she learnt from her French mentor and allows the dough to proof during a slow fermentation process. While we waited, occasionally turning over our dough, we were left to snack on freshly baked breads, cheeses, olives, spreads, farm butter, pickles, nuts, dried fruits and lots of wine. For those less inclined to indulge, there was a constant flow of great coffee, tea and smoothies from the adjoining coffee shop.

After the relaxed morning of learning, indulging and easy conversation, Kourelos showed us how to shape different kinds of bread. I opted for a boule (round bread found all over Europe), a baguette and a batard (shorter and fatter than a baguette).

By the end of the class I had made my own dough, shaped and baked my three breads. Mine were perhaps not as beautiful as those made by some of my classmates, but the taste was on point. As Kourelos told us, you can use the same recipe and ingredients but each person’s bread will be unique.

Like me, any baking fool can attend Babette’s beginners' class. The skills you learn can’t be found in a recipe and will be something you’ll use to feed and nourish your loved ones for years to come. The bottomless coffee, wine and snacks certainly don’t hurt and you might just realise that baking is not at all as scary as it first seems.

TRY IT YOURSELF

Where: At the back of the Built Environment Centre on Fox Street in Maboneng, Johannesburg.

When: On Saturdays and/or Sundays, but private workshops may be booked for any day of the week.

How much: R1,500 per person for the day, including all food and beverages during the workshop and a take-home packet of stone-ground flour. For more information or to book a class, visit www.babettesbread.co.za or e-mail Babette Kourelos at babettefrances@gmail.com.

Tips: Babette’s classes are informal but packed with information, so bring a notepad and a pen if you would like to make notes. Five-and-a-half hours go by quickly between the snacking and conversation around bread, so get a good night's rest to be fresh and ready for a full day of learning.

• The writer was a guest of Babette’s Bread Workshop