French Pastry School offering artisanal bread course

April 8, 2011, Chicago – The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College is offering an eight-week course on artisanal bread baking, running May 31 through July 23 in Chicago.

The course, titled L’Art de la Boulangerie, is a comprehensive session designed to meet the needs of students wishing to specialize in the art of bread baking. Throughout the course, students will gain hands-on experience in all aspects of creating artisan breads and breakfast pastries.

Mentors will be on-hand to share “stories about the products we make today [which] link us to our past,” explains Pierre Zimmerman, World Baking Champion and an instructor for the course. “With each class, to each student, I try to bring this little touch of history, whether it’s real or legendary. When someone knocks on the door of your bakery, they’re not simply buying a food product; they’re also buying a piece of history.”

Zimmerman will be joined by fellow World Baking Champion Didier Rosada, as well as United States Master Baker Jeffrey Hamelman and Compagnon Boulanger du Devoir Jonathan Dendauw. In eight-hour sessions, five days per week, these chef instructors will teach students everything from the fundamentals to advanced techniques in:

• Foodservice sanitation, safety, technology and basic skills;
• Fundamentals of French breads;
• Pre-ferments;
• Techniques and applications for levains and starters;
• Specialty whole grains and organic breads;
• Breakfast pastries and viennoiseries;
• Advanced breakfast pastries and viennoiseries; and
• Specialty breads from France and around the world.

Tuition for the course is $10,600. This fee includes tuition, books and course materials, as well as three-full uniforms, a complete pastry tool kit, all premium ingredients and the use of state-of-the-art-equipment.

For more information, visit www.frenchpastryschool.com.