Name: Next Level Bread & Baking
Price: 135.0 GBP
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

Course overview

Baker, chef and River Cottage bread expert Andy Tyrrell teaches you how to bake bread, brioche, and focaccia.

Bread is one of the most popular courses at River Cottage, and this extended, online version guides you through every stage of the baking process, giving you the knowledge and confidence to bake professional-level bread at home.

You’ll learn how to make many different styles of yeast breads including the famous River Cottage Farmhouse Loaf, as well as enriched doughs for sweeter bakes.

Andy also covers international breads like baguettes, through which you’ll learn how to fold and shape the perfect long loaf. You’ll gain skills to master wetter, olive oil-enriched doughs like ciabatta and focaccia, as well as sweet, buttery treats like brioche, doughnuts, cinnamon buns and a fruity spiced tea loaf.

Andy doesn’t just teach you the recipes, he will also help you understand the science of bread making, how flour works, which flours to use and how they magically transform with the aid of yeast, water, temperature and time.

This course will equip you with the skills to become an intuitive baker which will guide you to breadmaking perfection and endless moments of baking joy for years to come.

You'll learn:

which flour to use for different types of bread
how to make 'slow rise' loaves and bread
kneading techniques
dough proving
enriched loaves including brioche
Italian style bread including focaccia and ciabatta

The course includes:

4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Andy Tyrrell and River Cottage
lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
downloadable lesson notes
practical bread baking assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Independent Cookery Schools Association approved

This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.

Time to complete the bread making course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 50 minutes to complete including:

Video lessons: 2 hours 50 minutes in total
Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
Your gut health recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be baking bread, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Andy on your bread baking assignments.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Watch course trailer

Lesson summary

Understanding flour and making a farmhouse loaf

In the first lesson, Andy will teach you all about flour and how to be instinctive with breadmaking. You’ll learn about ratios of water to flour, fresh versus fast action yeast, and baker’s percentages before learning how to make a classic staple at River Cottage: our famous Farmhouse Loaf.

Slow it down for more flavour

This lesson dives into the popular subject of ‘slow rise’ loaves which are on the edge of sourdough and brilliant entry-level breads for those wanting to move into pre-fermentation. Andy will show you how to prove loaves over an extended amount of time as well as guiding you through the different stages of folding and shaping to give you loaves with the perfect rise. You'll make the Rustic Farmhouse Loaf and half baguettes with a pre-ferment.

Focaccia & Ciabatta

Master these two classic Italian breads with one brilliantly versatile dough. Andy will show you how to incorporate olive oil into this bake and how to make both a light, airy focaccia and beautiful slipper shaped, crispy, chewy open textured Italian ciabatta. Both are joyous to make and an even a greater treat to eat.

Finishing with something sweet

Enriched loaves are made by adding butter and eggs to a classic dough to give it a more cake-like texture and a luxurious richness famous in French baking. Andy will share his secrets for perfecting butter-rich brioche and then he’ll show you how to transform this dough into light and pillowy doughnuts and swirls of cinnamon buns. You’ll also get the secret recipe and step-by-step instruction to make a River Cottage favourite: our Spiced Fruit Loaf with tea-soaked fruit.