CRANSTON, RI — The Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA) is continuing its educational offerings with Building Blocks, a five-part virtual series that offers foundational knowledge of bread-baking science and technique.
The series, which kicks off July 2, is led by Melina Kelson, CMB, education and events manager for BBGA.
Melina shared that while the knowledge presented in each one-hour session is not new, this series is meant to serve as a training tool, providing well-vetted, factual information delivered clearly to bakers.
“There are a lot of well-intentioned people who are picking up little bits of knowledge and sharing them, but the knowledge isn’t always right,” she shared. “The intention is good, but the foundational information is shaky. The goal of this series is to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
While Melina is presenting the English portion of Building Blocks this summer, she shared that Katherine Cruz, a professional chef and pastry chef who is part of Red Brick Consulting, will lead the Spanish version in September.
The decision to offer Building Blocks, as well as other educational sessions in Spanish, is a continuation of BBGA’s focus to connect with more Spanish-speaking bakers, who are oftentimes the ones at the bench in bakeries.
“Breaking things down in people’s native tongue and meeting them where they’re at is more than an open door, it’s a place setting,” Melina explained about reserving space at the table for an assortment of bakers.
The lecture-style sessions are conducted on Zoom from 4-5 p.m. ET, with time at the end for questions.
Building Blocks sessions are as follows:
Steps in Bread Baking | July 2
The first Building Blocks lecture will help bakers understand the fundamental steps in bread baking and offer insights on how to adjust and refine the timeline, allowing the baker to control the process rather than the process controlling the baker.
“There are important scientific things happening in each [step],” Melina shared. “Understanding the best practices around those steps is critical.”
Ingredients & their Functions | July 16
This session will break down the properties of essential bread ingredients — flour, fat, salt, yeast and eggs — and educates bakers on how to manipulate them to achieve their desired results.
Baker’s Math | July 30
In teaching bakers and operators about baker’s math and the ratios used to determine formulation,
“I can think of few things that are more important than understanding how your formulas function and being able to digest them through this snapshot lens of baker’s math,” Melina shared. “I’m determined to make that a dynamic and engaging class because I proselytize about baker’s math all the time to anyone who will listen, and, as terrified as I might be by math, baker’s math is so accessible and important. I really feel anybody can learn it.”
Mixing Styles | Aug. 13
In the penultimate session of the series, attendees will learn best practices for controlling fermentation, crumb quality and volume through understanding three common mixing types: short, improved and intensive.
Yeasted Preferments | Aug. 27
Building Blocks will close with insights on preferments. This includes understanding the role of hydration, salt and yeast percentages in a final product’s timeline, flavor and texture. Attendees will also learn about pate fermentee, poolish, biga and sponges.
Registration for Building Blocks is now open and free to guild members.
