Cooking
or culinary holidays, vacations, tours in Italy:
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SHORT
BREAKS : COOKING HOLIDAYS : COOKING VACATIONS
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Off
the beaten track
.
. . artisan bread making in Tuscany
Not
everyone can make artisan bread. It's something special,
requiring a knowledge of mixing, kneading, fermenting,
shaping and baking. Only then can you produce a well
textured, aromatic, delicious loaf of bread.
Join
our master bakers in rural Tuscany and learn the secrets
of baking English and European breads. You'll use fresh
local ingredients to bake everything from sourdough
to Italian delicacies.
Fresh-baked
bread is an essential introduction to every meal. Learn
skills that will make you an artisan baker in your own
home.
Artisan
Bread School offers five day in-depth courses as
well as two and three day courses.
Artisan
Bread School was established by Carl Shavitz to help
revive the art of bread making. He has brought together
some of Europe's top bakers to teach students how to
bake delicious, nutritious and healthy artisan breads
in their own kitchens.
The
School's hands-on courses will specialize in European
and English breads - sourdoughs, as well as a wide-range
of English and Italian specialties like focaccia, olive
bread and ciabatta.
Set
in the rural Tuscan village of Mercatale di Cortona,
in the Val de Pierle, students live in surroundings
that will take them back to another time and place.
Artisan
Bread School is offering a variety of courses in May
2008
- Five
day in-depth classes
Time
permitting we will visit local markets to buy ingredients
for the breads, as well as food for breakfasts and lunches
- Mercatale and Umbertide on Wednesdays, Camucia on
Thursdays, Cortona on Saturdays.
There
is swimming at Lake Trasimeno and at public swimming
pools in Cortona, Camucia and Umbertide.
Tuscany
has endless places to visit depending on your interests.
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Photo
David Johnson Cambridgeshire Journal September
2007
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FIVE
DAY IN-DEPTH COURSES
with
Emmanuel Hadjiandreou
Monday 19th May to Friday 23rd May 2008
Instructor:
Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, multi-award winning artisan
baker of Judge's Bakery in Hastings, Sussex, UK.
This
course is designed for home bakers and those interested
in learning the craft of artisan bread making.
The
course will cover:
-
Working with fresh yeast
- Fermentation
basics
- Mixing,
kneading and shaping a loaf
- Making
a sourdough and a sponge
- Making
different loaves with a wide variety of flours
-
Ingredients that complement the bread
- Baking
bread in a wood-fired oven
THREE
AND TWO DAY COURSES
with
Carl Shavitz
Dates
to be agreed, please contact the Director with your
request - carl@artisan-bread-school.com
Instructor:
Carl Shavitz, Director of the Artisan Bread School
and artisan baker
Three
day course
Students will make focaccia, ciabatta, rustic sourdoughs,
sourdough olive bread, yeasted loaves, plain white
loaves using an overnight sponge and more. You will
learn about controlling temperature variations, moulding
and other techniques that can be used to bake artisan
breads at home.
Two
day course
Students will make focaccia, ciabatta, as well as
rustic sourdoughs. In just two days, learn about controlling
temperature variations, moulding and other techniques
that can be used to bake artisan breads at home.
| Carl
Shavitz |
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School
Director. Artisan baker supplying restaurants and
specialty shops. Trained at Ballymaloe, County Cork
Ireland and The Village Bakery, Melmerby, Cumbria.
Worked at The Three Crowns Inn, Herefordshire UK
before starting his own business. |
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| Emmanuel
Hadjiandreou |
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In
2004 while head baker at Daylesford Organic Farm
Shop, in Gloucestershire, Emmanuel created his sourdough
bread, which won the Soil Association award. He
started his baking career in South Africa and qualified
as both a baker and pastry chef. Coming to London
he concentrated on bread and started working at
the Savoy Hotel, with Anton Edelmann, later moving
on to work with Gordon Ramsay. From there Emmanuel
joined his wife working with Matt Jones, at Flour
Power, using organic ingredients making bread in
an artisan, handcrafted manner. He now lives in
Hastings in East Sussex where he and his wife have
a bakery on the High Street in the Old Town. |
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Mercatale
di Cortona
Artisan
Bread School's 2008 courses will take place on the
beautiful estate of La Macchia in the village of Mercatale
di Cortona in Tuscany.
Mercatale
is a small agricultural village at the southern end
of the Val di Pierle. The valley was scene of the
Roman defeat by Hannibal at the battle of Trasimeno.
Mercatale
di Cortona is 20 km from Cortona, 220 km from Rome,
122 km from Florence, 90 km from Siena, 55 km from
Assisi, 50 km from both Montepulciano and Perugia.
Mercatale is to the east of Cortona and north of Lago
Trasimeno.
There
are three banks with ATMs, a mini-supermarket, a wine
shop, pizzeria, bakery, butcher and several bars.
La
Macchia Estate
La
Macchia lies on the edge of Mercatale di Cortona.
The family has farmed the land for hundreds of years
and continues to do so today.
The
Estate sits on a hill overlooking the valley, surrounded
by trees. Its ancient and simply restored buildings
incorporate Etruscan and later rural architecture,
providing agriturismo-style accommodation. There is
a large pond that can be used for swimming.
La
Macchia was selected as the site for Artisan Bread
School because it evokes a time when artisan bread-making
was the norm rather than the exception. Free of modern
distractions, it provides the feel of a simpler time.
Olive
oil used for Artisan Bread School classes will come
from the estate's 3,000 olive trees. An olive oil
tasting will be included in the course.
Each
evening, an authentic home-cooked meal of Umbrian
dishes will be prepared in the Villa and delivered
to one of the houses of accommodation. Meals will
be served with Estate produced wine.
Accommodation
is modest and rustic. Rooms do not have private bathrooms.
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