The Starter Session
three hours, one loaf, very sticky handsOur second sourdough morning in Melbourne, on us. Build a starter, mix and shape a real loaf, eat warm bread, and go home with everything you need to keep it alive. Small room, no stand mixers, no experience needed.
Who this is for
We have room for fifteen people, so we read every application properly.
- You bake, cook or write about food, and you enjoy sharing what you make.
- You're Melbourne-based, or close enough to get there for a morning.
- You've never made sourdough, or you've made a hundred loaves. Both are welcome.
- You're happy to get flour on your hands, your rings and quite possibly your phone.
How the day runs
Dough doesn't hurry, so neither do we.
Arrive
Coffee, introductions, and a jar of live starter with your name on it to take home.
Watch first
Feeding, autolyse and mixing by hand. No stand mixers all morning: you'll feel when the dough is ready.
Your turn
Mix your own, then stretch and fold. This is the part where it gets everywhere.
Clean up properly
A sink set up the way it should be, with everything you need to get dough off your hands in seconds rather than minutes.
While it proves
Sit down, eat something, and hear how After Dough started. Ask us anything. We're quite hard to embarrass.
Shape and score
Bench rest, shaping, banneton and your first scoring pattern. Messy round two.
Eat warm bread
Loaves come out of the oven and get torn apart with far too much butter.
Take it home
Bags, a group photo, and out the door before your starter gets hungry.
What you take home
- Your starter jar, labelled by hand
- A bottle of After Dough
- A printed recipe and feeding-schedule card
- A bench scraper of your own
- A discount code just for the room
- The dough under your fingernails, free of charge