A French Baking Class in London
I walked into Bread Ahead Bakery in South Kensington, bought a spinach and feta pastry, saw classes on a chalkboard, and signed up for one at the bakery's school in Borough Market - it was fun!
Introduction to Bread Ahead Bakery
Bread Ahead Bakery in London is something of an icon, I think. I had no idea until that fateful day in December 2023 when I walked into their bakery shop in South Kensington and bought a spinach and feta pastry. As I left, a chalkboard on the wall stopped me in my tracks. There were all kinds of baking classes advertised there!
My love affair with baking started fifty-two years ago, when I was four years old, with a cookbook I had saved up for on offer in our school book sale flyer. It was thirty-five cents, I remember, and had a green cover. And, with it, I made cheddar cheese-filled hot dogs for my family and I think some sugary bread-and-butter treat. I remember my mom and my little brothers loved my concoctions (or at least said they did) and I was hooked!
I’ve since progressed to sourdough (thank you, Sophia Mavrides for the starter from the Noe Valley Bakery!) and scones and pies and challah and shortbreads and, oh, lots of things. But, it is always with me that I still have so much to explore and learn in the baking world.
Currently there’s a whole lot of restoration going on at my house. There’s no refrigerator or oven in the kitchen right now pending some sanding and repainting of cabinets and some repair and sealant work on the floors. We’re getting by but I really miss cooking and baking.
So, seeing these classes on the chalkboard, open to the general public, inspired me to check their website and peruse. Have a look yourself:
Bread Ahead Evening Workshops:
Bread Ahead Half Day Workshops:
Bread Ahead Full Day Workshops:
French Baking Day
Borough Market is nuts…
It’s filled to overflowing, especially on the weekends, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. One day, I shall arrive early with my camera and take photos of all the food vendors setting up. It is a photographer’s - and a foodie’s - paradise. But, the crush can be maddening and today was no exception.
I finally found the Bread Ahead school tucked away next to the wild mushroom risotto stand. (“Sam-ples! Get your sam-ples of wild mushroom ri-ZO-to!” These samples are little wormies of wild mushrooms hanging off a fork with a bite of creamy rice that’s been bathing in a decadent mushroom sauce. I’ve had those samples before and they are delectable, those wormies!)
I sent the following photo to my friend, Allie. We might just take that gluten-free class together one day! We were welcomed in to confirm our class, use the toilets upstairs, and then return outside to wait for the class start. (Okay, even though we’re about to bake, a word about “toilets.” It’s very, very common practice to ask for the “toilets” here instead of “restroom” as we in America do. I must admit, my dainty American sensitivities were a little shocked when I first heard “toilets” bandied about so openly and blatantly. But, a toilet is what we’re after, right? It’s gotten a lot easier to just be direct: “Where are the toilets, please?”)
While waiting outside (after the toilet), I struck up a conversation with a young lady and her friend from Chester. They were in London for the weekend and wanted to include a class in their plans. She had previously taken an Italian Baking class from Bread Ahead and had enjoyed immensely. They made foccacia and pizza that day.
In we went at 2pm sharp. We were welcomed to coffee and water, told to put our jackets and items in a cubby nearby, and to wash our hands and find a spot at the table.
At each station, we had a food scale, a bread scraper, a pencil, and a shallow metal bowl.
We met our teacher, Chef Alessandro, from Italy. He still carries his Italian voice with him though having lived in London these 20+ years. We made our introductions around our work table and I was the token American which was fun. I thought, this class is a very good representation of the city at-large: here I am, about to embark on an Introduction to French Baking in London with an Italian chef and a bunch of Brits as an American!
We got down to French baking business. We were informed we’d be making three different French breads: pain de campagne (country bread or country loaf), a baguette, and fougasse (which is somewhat similar to, but arguably more pretty than, Italian focaccia).
After our pain de campagne were mixed and kneaded and slammed onto our work surfaces a few times (very fun), Chef Alessandro put them in the proving oven. Prove, from what I gather, is the British term for “rise.”
While our loaves proved, we were given another bit of starter, more watery this one, and we again added flour, water, and salt in a different ratio to the last. The same mixing and kneading and scraping process commenced and we then cut the end product into two smaller loaves and covered them with our bowls to let them rest. With these we would make our baguette and our fougasse.
Then it was break time and we were offered a brownie and one of those doughnuts which were selling like hotcakes outside!
We shaped our pain de campagne in banetton bowls.
Then it was razor blade time:
Then the last little loaf was stretched out flat by hand and we used our scraper to cut some holes into it.
Fougasse into the proving oven…
Pain de campagne exit…
Baguettes enter…
Time to clean up our work stations. The scrapers came in handy for this, too. (We got to take our scrapers home with us.)
Next, we were given fresh rosemary, olive oil, chilli flakes (yes, two “l’s”), and coarse (maybe Kosher?) salt and our fougasse (fougasses?) came out of the proving (proofing? I have so many questions in this paragraph!) oven for embellishment!
The rosemary was so very fresh. I stuck my face into the bowl we passed around and took big whiffs…
And into the oven our fougasse(s?) go.
Meanwhile, here’s our finished pain de campagne, ready for packaging to take with us.
And out come our baguettes…
When Chef Alessandro gave me permission to write this newsletter, he also asked me to review the class on Google. Should you ever come to London and take a Bread Ahead class, please do provide your excellent review on Google. They have the chalkboards in the bakeries around the city and their website and social media and word-of-mouth, but Chef says this is their best source of marketing. I’ll leave my review right after I publish this post!
And, what will I say? I will say that this was a truly fun experience with so much laughter and support and camaraderie that the learning, and there was so much of it, seemed almost incidental! I’ll tell them that I can’t wait to try the techniques that I learned at home and that I can’t wait to take another class.
I dropped into a nearby fish restaurant in Borough Market after class for a glass of wine, inspired by a lady I saw from the window sipping her own glass from within. Once I’d finished up my Nerello ( “a light red, please”), as I put my jacket on, I turned and thanked her for inspiring me to come in and sit for a few minutes. I told her I’d just been to the Bread Ahead Baking School and asked her if she’d ever taken a class. She said that, yes, she’d taken their Italian Christmas baking class over the holidays and she loved it!
Italian Christmas baking!
Care to join me next Christmas?
Love, Renate
P. S. Although this has nothing to do with the baking class, as I left Bread Ahead, this little lass was atop her dad’s shoulders. And, as they walked, I heard the child say, “I LOVE fish.” Daddy replied, “Oh, yeah?” Child, “YES. I LOVE fish!” You could hear the smile in Dad’s voice as he said, “Me, too.”
It’s just a little conversation that made me smile. I love fish, too.
Love your story so much… makes me smile.
Thank you, Holly! Your comment makes me smile as I remember how we met. London is a great city, isn't it? Great blessings to you and your family.