Frequently asked questions
What will I learn? This workshop is designed to give you a comprehensive, hands-on foundation in the sourdough process—from starter to bake. Here’s what we cover: •How to care for a sourdough starter, including how to troubleshoot a sluggish or inactive one. •The science of fermentation and gluten development: What’s happening in your dough behind the scenes and how the variables that influence fermentation rate impact your baking timeline. •Building dough strength and promoting gluten development - How to handle dough at different stages using stretch-and-fold, coil folds, and other gentle techniques. •Shaping a round boule: Learn the essential steps for building structure, surface tension, and a shape that holds during baking. •Scoring techniques that allow your bread to expand beautifully in the oven and offer a creative touch to your loaves. •Baking fundamentals, including oven setups, baking with or without a Dutch oven, and crust development. •Timing your bake, creating your own baking schedule, and how to adapt the sourdough method to other baked goods like focaccia, baguettes, pizza dough, many more! •Troubleshooting tips for common sourdough problems—because real life doesn’t always go by the book! By the end, you’ll have a complete roadmap for baking delicious sourdough at home—on your own time and in your own kitchen.
Do I need any prior cooking or baking experience? Not at all! This workshop is perfect for complete beginners as well as home bakers who’ve dabbled in sourdough and are looking to refine their technique and deepen their knowledge.
What should I bring with me? Just yourself and your curiosity to learn! We provide all tools, ingredients, resources, and items for take home.
How is the workshop structured? Is it hands on? Yes! This is a fully hands-on workshop! You’ll be mixing, folding, shaping, and handling dough yourself—with plenty of guidance and personal support. The workshop also includes demos, science-based explanations, time for Q&A, sampling of freshly baked sourdough bread, and practical take-home tips. You won’t just watch—you’ll do.
Do we bake our bread during the workshop? We don’t bake during the workshop due to time constraints. Instead, the instructor will serve freshly baked loaves to model the final product we will be making! Most loaves require 45-60 minutes in the oven to bake, then another 3 hours minimum to properly cool prior to cutting into. Cutting into a loaf prematurely can result in a gummy interior. In addition to this, after shaping, your dough needs a long, cold rest in the fridge (5–48 hours) to develop its signature sour flavor. Instead, you’ll take home: •A shaped, fully proofed loaf that’s ready to bake the next day. •A second batch of dough that is ready to rise that can be used for another boule or adapted into focaccia, pizza dough, or baguettes. You’ll also receive clear, step-by-step baking instructions—including options for baking with or without a Dutch oven.
Do we create our own starter during the workshop? An established starter is provided for use during the workshop and for each participant to take home with them to continue the sourdough process on their own! We don't create our own starter from scratch during the workshop, because it takes about seven days for the starter to be safe to bake with. In addition to this, it realistically takes about three months of regularly caring for a starter to achieve consistent results when baking. While you can use a starter successfully that is younger than three months old, it may not consistently yield you the results that you are looking for.
What do we leave the workshop with? •A dehydrated sourdough starter •A shaped, ready-to bake loaf. •A second batch of dough that is ready to rise and can be used to make another boule or that can be transformed into focaccia, pizza dough, or baguettes! •Digital resources with instructions, tips, and recipes. •An open line of support and communication to ask questions after the workshop. •New knowledge about bread making and fermentation. •Confidence to bake at home!
I am interested in baking with whole wheat or whole grain flour, do you talk about this? Yes! We discuss the different types of flour – white, all-purpose, bread flour, whole, wheat, and whole grain – and how each behaves in sourdough baking. Each flour brings its own unique quirks and behavior to the fermentation and texture to the bread-making processes. Freshly milled whole grain flours, for example, are nutrient-dense and enzyme-rich, but also a bit more unpredictable. The good news? That unpredictability often leads to richer flavor, deeper color, and more character in your final loaf.
I am gluten free, can I still take the workshop? We currently focus on traditional wheat-based sourdough, which contains gluten, however we have many people who are gluten intolerant who take the workshop to build their foundation and knowledge of the sourdough method of leavening. It allows the opportunity for people to understand the fermentation process that leads to the rise of bread. We also talk about gluten, what it is, and the role that it plays in the bread baking process. Understanding the role of gluten in the bread baking process is also important in gluten free baking when considering your choice of a gluten free flour blend and how to replicate the texture of traditional wheat bread in a gluten free loaf. Although we don’t cover how specific gluten free flours behave, we build a really solid foundation and understanding of the sourdough method, which makes diving into that niche of sourdough much less overwhelming for people. Those who are gluten free are able to take their knowledge of using the sourdough method of leavening & fermentation and apply the process using gluten free flour.
How do you handle food safety ? The workshop instructor is a licensed Cottage Food Operator in Contra Costa County. We comply with all food safety standards, including proper labeling of ingredients and allergens, and maintain a clean and safe environment for food handling at all times.
Do I get to ask questions during? What about after the workshop? Absolutely! We encourage questions throughout the session and reserve time at the end for open discussion. We pack of information into the workshop, and know that it can take a few days to let everything sink in and for questions to come up, so I also invite participants to email me directly with any additional questions within 5 days of the end of the workshop. We offer this post-workshop email support to answer any questions, troubleshoot issues, and cheer you on as you bake at home.
Should I take this workshop if I have tried the sourdough method before? Yes! If you’ve ever been frustrated by inconsistent results, given up halfway through, or just want to level up your skills—this is the workshop for you. We’ll help fill in the gaps and give you a more solid, intuitive understanding of sourdough baking.
Is this workshop suitable for kids? The workshop is best suited for ages 14 and up due to the pace and science of fermentation involved in the sourdough method. We generally recommend that teens ages 14-17 attend with a supervising adult.
Why is the workshop so expensive? Is it worth the price? You're paying for more than just a class—you’re investing in expert instruction, ingredients, tools, hands-on experience, take-home materials, ongoing support, and a welcoming space to be able to ask tailored questions. Additionally, sourdough is typically a 2-3 day process. In order to be able to condense the process into 2.5 hours, there is a lot of behind the scenes preparation that is done to be able to make that happen and to give participants the opportunity to be hands-on with every stage of the sourdough process. There is a lot of work, time, knowledge, and love that goes into the sourdough process and preparing for each workshop. Afterall, sourdough baking is a skill, so the workshop pays off every time you bake your own beautiful loaf at home!
Is this workshop different from others being offered locally or online? What makes this one unique? This isn’t a passive demo—it’s a personal, hands-on experience designed for true learning. You’ll: •Handle dough yourself •Receive personalized instruction and get real-time feedback •Leave with products you made yourself and a starter culture to keep baking on your own •Have access to post-workshop support •Join a community of fellow sourdough lovers Unlike online classes or larger events, this is about true skill-building in a supportive environment.
What is the background of the instructor? Victoria holds a dual B.A., along with an M.A., and has over 11 years of teaching experience across multiple disciplines, including at the university level. She is a team of 1 and is the one who answers all emails and manages the workshop social media pages.
Where is the workshop held? Our workshops are held at various recreation & community centers, as well as businesses across the entire Bay Area.
How do I sign up? You can find the specific registration link for each event location on the home page of our website under the “Upcoming workshops” section. Each event listing includes a registration link – most are hosted through external platforms (like community centers) and each event location may have a different registration or cancellation policy.
Are you planning on offering a workshop in X location in the future? We currently offer workshops in over 20 different cities across the entire Bay Area. We are not adding any new cities to our workshop location list at the moment, but we do anticipate adding future workshop dates in most of our current workshop locations. Keep an eye out on our website and social media pages (Facebook and Instagram) for new workshop dates as they’re added!
My starter died. Can I buy more? Yes! We offer dehydrated starter for purchase. Just contact us and we’ll send you an electronic invoice for $15 and will you up with a healthy new one by mail. Instructions for reviving your dehydrated starter will be provided.