Celebration Breads – The Companion Class for Betsy’s New Book

Techniques: Learn how to make the breads that Grandmother baked. Preserve the recipes, tales and traditions of breads that have been baked for centuries. This class will cover basic handling of bread dough with various shaping, filling, and frying techniques.

Recipes: Hot Cross Buns, Potica, Pacyki, Christopsomo, Kringle

The Basics of Bread Baking

Techniques: Betsy teaches everything you need to know about conquering your bread baking fears plus much more. Learn proper kneading techniques with out bogging up to your elbows in sticky dough, how to convert recipes to the food processor and heavy-duty mixer. How to use your bread machine properly. She offers easy to follow explanations about ingredients, their purpose, and substitutions or alternate choices. She shares many helpful hints, storage techniques, which pans are best, and shows how to use many utensils and gadgets from necessities to luxuries.

Recipes: Tomato Basil Baguettes, Rosemary Raisin Bread, Buttermilk Orange Wheat Bread, Sicilian Semolina Olive Bread

Fun With Creative Yeast Bread Shapes

Techniques: Once you’ve conquered your bread baking skills, let’s have fun with shaping techniques. Betsy guides you through her easy bread baking techniques before showing over 20 different shapes for loaves, rolls, buns, braids, double braids and sweet breads.

Recipes: County Fair Egg Bread, Cheddar Sesame Rolls, Onion Sage Rolls, Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Starter and Sponge Breads

Techniques: Learn the difference between sponges, pre-ferment, and various types of starters used to make the popular artisan breads of today. You can make a great loaf of bread quickly, but a fantastic loaf slowly.
Recipes: Whole Wheat Egg Bread from a basic sponge, Artisan Loaf from pre-ferment, Bacon Semolina Bread using an Italian Biga, Cracked Wheat Bread with an overnight starter

Full-Meal Breads – Perfect For Picnics and Tailgate Parties

Techniques: Betsy teaches everything you need to know to make the perfect bread dough with full explanations on using the mixer, food processor, and bread machine. Learn to fill dough in various shapes so that you entrée is encased in a tasty bread when baked. These breads are outstanding whether they are hot and fresh from the oven or at room temperature.
Recipes: Mexican Double-Crust Pizza, German Kasebrot, Greek Lamb and Feta Buns, Veggie Sausage Calzone

Pizza With Pizzazz

Techniques: Making dough, proper kneading skills, baking fresh versus pre-baking dough, sauce, and various toppings. Six pizzas are prepared for students to sample.

Recipes: Basic cheese, Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato, Mexican, Greek, and Blue Cheese and Pear

Entertaining Breads

Techniques: Two yeast doughs are prepared in class (one dough will be made by hand demonstrating proper kneading and the other using a heavy-duty mixer showing how to properly knead in the mixer). Doughs are then shaped into showy breads perfect for brunches, lunches, picnics, dinners, and buffets.
Recipes: Basic Italian Dough (Rustica, Party Pizzas, Rosemary & Fontina Focaccia) and Buttery Semolina Dough (Greek Olive & Feta Buns, Cinnamon Raisin Braid, Chunky Funky Pull-Apart Loaf)

Appetizer Breads – Great For Entertaining

Techniques: Two yeast doughs are prepared in class (one made by hand to show proper kneading and dough preparation, the other in a heavy-duty mixer). Doughs are then shaped into small bite-sized breads in different shapes with various ingredients. Two recipes of dough look like seven different recipes! Looks like you’ve done much, much more work than you have.

Recipes: Rich French dough (Onion Pepper Bites; Spicy Crispy Flat Breads; Goat Cheese, Rosemary and Raisin Braid) and Light Whole Wheat Dough (Gouda Jam Balls, Party Baguettes, Bruchetta/Cracker Bread, and Brie and Fruit Loaf)

Breads From Betsy’s Kitchen – Breads Grandma Made

Techniques: Two yeast breads are prepared by hand from start-to-finish – one will be a kneaded bread, the other a batter-type bread. Two other doughs will be prepared before class. The buttery Ensaymadas are shaped much like a croissant but they’re also very cheesy and sweet. Bagels will be poached, topped and baked.

Recipes: Black Peasant Bread, Egg Bagels, Ensaymadas, and Tomato Cheese Batter Bread

Breads From the Stovetop

Techniques: Making breads that are prepared – some kneaded, some just mixed – and then they are shaped. All of these breads will be cooked in a skillet or pot on the stovetop. Wonderful for the industrious camper!

Recipes: English Muffins, Chapatis (Indian Flat Bread), Spudnuts (Southern-style Doughnuts as good as Krispy Kremes), Oriental Flat Bread

Quick Breads

Techniques: What to do and not to do to make the perfect quick breads. Everything you’ve always wanted, or needed, to know and didn’t know what to ask.

Recipes: Southern-Style Biscuits, Scones, Muffins, Cornbread – both Northern and Southern, Popovers, and Chou-Style Fried Bread

Holiday Yeast Breads – Christmas Season

Techniques: One yeast bread is prepared by hand from start-to-finish. Other dough, already prepared, is used to show various shaping techniques for trees, twists, braids, and wreaths. There is also a savory bread for dinner rolls and a “holiday leftover” sandwich loaf.

Recipes: Betsy’s Stollen, Basic Whole Wheat Sweet Dough, Hazelnut Holiday Tree, and Cranberry Oatmeal Nut Bread

Holiday Yeast Breads – Easter Season

Techniques: One yeast bread is prepared by hand from start-to-finish. Other dough, already prepared, is used to show various shaping techniques for doves, wreaths with colored eggs, basket made of bread and filled with decorated bread eggs, twists, and coils.

Recipes: Colomba di Pasca, Saffron Wreath, Hot Cross Buns, and Crescia

Holiday Yeast Breads – Easter Season

Techniques: Jelly-making techniques, hot water bath, candy making.

Recipes: Shrimp Butter, Banana Cranberry Jam, Sesame Nut Caramels, Jezebel Sauce, Balsamic Mustard, and Pickled Wheat Relish

Easy Entertaining

Techniques: Piping, working with the food processor, roasting corn, frying techniques, pressing cheeses.

Recipes: Apple Walnut Pâté, Layered Cheese Torta, Poultry Balls in Orange Ginger Sauce, Shrimp Butter, Cantaloupe Wraps, Roasted Corn Guacamole, Stuffed Dates, Fried Dill Pickles

Delightful Desserts

Techniques: Various techniques to whip up some of the lightest, yummiest desserts. These desserts are designed to follow heavier entrees.

Recipes: Baked Crispy Goat Cheese with Raspberry Sauce, John Ryan’s Panna Cotta, Double Chocolate Terrine, Tres Leches, King Kamehaha Apple Macadamia Pie, Irish Coffee Parfaits