Bakery Course

Lesson 1 • Food Safety and Hygiene Standards

Teaches personal hygiene, cross-contamination prevention, and temperature control aligned with food safety regulations. Safe practices are reinforced as non-negotiable habits from day one.

Lesson 2 • Weights, Measures, and Baker's Math

Introduces metric and imperial measurement, scaling recipes, and baker's percentage calculations. Accurate measurement is the prerequisite skill for every formula in the course.

Lesson 3 • Core Baking Ingredients Overview

Examines the functional roles of flour, sugar, fat, eggs, leaveners, and liquids in baked goods. Understanding ingredient function is the foundation for troubleshooting in all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 4 • Essential Bakery Equipment and Tools

Introduces hand tools, mixers, ovens, and proving equipment used daily in professional baking. Correct tool selection underpins every technique taught in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Straight Dough and Modified Straight Dough

Teaches single-stage and modified mixing for yeast doughs, emphasising ingredient order and temperature control. These methods form the basis for all bread and roll production.

Lesson 2 • Gluten Development and Dough Structure

Explains gluten network formation, hydration levels, and their effect on texture and volume. This knowledge guides every mixing and shaping decision made in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Creaming and Blending Methods

Covers the creaming method for cakes and cookies and the blending method for tender crumb products. Students apply each method to understand how fat incorporation affects final texture.

Lesson 1 • Specialty and Enriched Breads

Applies fermentation and shaping skills to brioche, challah, focaccia, and flavoured loaves. Students adapt base techniques to produce a diverse bread menu.

Lesson 2 • Yeast Types and Fermentation Basics

Compares fresh, active dry, and instant yeast and explains fermentation chemistry and gas production. Fermentation control is the central skill for all bread production in this chapter.

Lesson 3 • Shaping Techniques for Breads and Rolls

Covers degassing, pre-shaping, bench rest, and final shaping for loaves, batards, and rolls. Proper shaping creates surface tension that supports oven spring and crumb structure.

Lesson 4 • Pre-ferments and Sourdough Starters

Teaches poolish, biga, and levain preparation and their impact on flavour complexity and shelf life. Students build and maintain a sourdough starter as a living fermentation tool.

Lesson 1 • Puff Pastry and Rough Puff Techniques

Explains the lock-in method, turns, and resting intervals that create hundreds of flaky layers. Students produce classic puff pastry and the faster rough puff variation.

Lesson 2 • Short and Sweet Pastry Doughs

Covers pâte brisée, pâte sucrée, and pâte sablée mixing, resting, and blind baking. These doughs serve as the base for tarts and quiches throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Croissant and Danish Lamination

Applies lamination principles to enriched doughs for croissants and Danish pastries with butter layers. Temperature discipline and precise folding determine flakiness and lift.

Lesson 4 • Tart and Quiche Assembly

Combines short pastry skills with fillings, custards, and garnishes to produce finished tarts and quiches. Students practise professional presentation and portion control.

Lesson 1 • Mousses and Bavarian Creams

Produces aerated chocolate and fruit mousses and gelatin-set Bavarian creams for entremets and verrines. Folding technique and gelatin management determine texture and stability.

Lesson 2 • Whipped Cream and Chantilly

Explains fat content requirements, stabilisation methods, and piping applications for whipped cream. Proper stabilisation extends shelf life and maintains shape in finished products.

Lesson 3 • Pastry Cream and Crème Anglaise

Teaches stovetop custard cooking, tempering eggs, and achieving the correct consistency for each application. These foundational creams appear in tarts, éclairs, and layered desserts.

Lesson 4 • Buttercreams and Ganaches

Covers American, Swiss, Italian, and French buttercreams alongside dark, milk, and white chocolate ganaches. Students select the right buttercream for stability, flavour, and application method.

Lesson 1 • Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes

Applies the creaming method to produce high-ratio butter cakes and dense pound cakes with even crumb. Students adjust fat and sugar ratios to control texture and moisture.

Lesson 2 • Cake Layers, Soaking, and Filling

Teaches torting, soaking syrups, and applying buttercream or mousse fillings between layers. Even layering and proper soaking are critical for balanced flavour and structure.

Lesson 3 • European Tortes and Specialty Cakes

Produces Sachertorte, Black Forest cake, and opera cake using classical European techniques. Students integrate multiple components into a cohesive, restaurant-quality dessert.

Lesson 4 • Sponge and Foam Cakes

Covers génoise, chiffon, and angel food cakes that rely on whipped eggs for structure and lift. Proper folding and baking prevent collapse and ensure a light, open crumb.

Lesson 1 • Macarons and Meringue-Based Cookies

Covers French and Italian meringue methods for macarons and meringue kisses with stable shells. Macaronage technique and humidity management determine shell quality.

Lesson 2 • Bars, Brownies, and Blondies

Produces fudgy brownies, chewy blondies, and layered bars with consistent texture and clean cuts. Pan lining, baking time, and chilling before cutting are key production skills.

Lesson 3 • Petit Fours and Confectionery Bites

Produces glazed petit fours secs and glacés, truffles, and chocolate-dipped confections for catering. Precision cutting, coating, and presentation elevate small items to premium products.

Lesson 4 • Piped and Pressed Cookies

Teaches spritz, tuile, and langue de chat production using piping bags and cookie presses. Uniform piping pressure and spacing ensure even baking across the sheet.

Lesson 1 • Chocolate Tempering and Decorations

Covers seeding and tabling tempering methods, moulding, and creating chocolate decorations for cakes and pastries. Tempered chocolate provides gloss, snap, and stability in finished products.

Lesson 2 • Quality Control and Product Consistency

Establishes sensory evaluation, weight checks, and visual standards to maintain consistent product quality. Students implement a simple quality control checklist for daily bakery operations.

Lesson 3 • Sugar Work and Pulled Sugar

Introduces isomalt and cooked sugar techniques for spun sugar, pulled sugar flowers, and caramel decorations. Sugar work requires precise temperature control and practised hand technique.

Lesson 4 • Piping Skills and Cake Decoration

Develops piping bag control for borders, flowers, lettering, and intricate royal icing designs. Consistent pressure and tip selection define the quality of decorative work.