Sourdough in a Day at Brickhouse Bread

Back in May I went on the 'Sourdough in a Day' baking class at the Brickhouse Bakery in East Dulwich. It was a course that I enjoyed a lot more than expected and in a year that has been so busy, it was great to take some time out for myself and do something that I enjoy. Even though I spent the whole day on my feet I came away feeling recharged which was nice!

Everyone on the course had been enrolled as a birthday present and for most people it was their first sourdough experience. I haven't baked in a while but did go through a pretty serious sourdough phase back in Australia so was the most experienced person on the course.

The course was run by bakery owner Fergus and we discovered pretty early in the day that we both had a connection with Sydney and we had visited some of the same bakeries there. For someone that is periodically tempted by a career change it was also pretty inspiring to hear that Fergus quit his corporate job a few years to learn to bake and then set up his own bakery in a garage. Do they do apprenticeships???

Despite it being a bit of a beginners course I definitely learnt a lot during the day (plus it was good fun to play with some dough after a while out of the kitchen). The method we were taught isn't one that I've tried before and I liked the simplicity of it. There are quite a few stages, but none take more than a couple of minutes and it felt like a method that you could fit into a routine at home.

I liked that I got to bake a loaf in a deck oven for the first time too as well as having the chance to discuss how to get the best results from a home oven. Although the loaf that I baked in the below photo (mine is back left) came out a little under-baked, showing that the professionals can mistakes too.

We cooked three different loaves, plus a pizza for lunch, over the course of the day. My only criticism of the day was that it felt a bit flat during the 40 minutes while our loaves were in the oven. Fergus was happy to answer any questions that we had, but I think most people were quite tired from a day on their feet and tea or coffee and the chance to sit down would have good. However, overall it was a great day!

My haul of goodies for the day.