Beyond the Loaf Sourdough Series

Learn to bake sourdough, one step at a time.

This three-part evening series with Denise is designed to take you from complete beginner to confident home sourdough baker.

You do not need a starter, special equipment or any previous sourdough experience.

We begin with the fundamentals, build your skills over the following month, then finish with practical troubleshooting and creative ways to use sourdough discard.

The three workshops are sold as one complete series and are not available separately.

Course 1: Sourdough Basics

Wednesday 17 February | 6pm–8pm

This is where everyone starts.

You’ll learn:

how sourdough works

sourdough theory and fundamentals

autolyse

how to feed and care for your starter

folding and shaping

fermentation control

proofing and baking

how to store your loaf so it stays fresh

You’ll also take home a jar of Hermann, a very active German rye starter from a monastery near Würzburg, where the same culture has been kept and baked with for more than 100 years.

You won’t be starting from scratch after the workshop. You’ll leave with a living starter and the knowledge to keep it going at home.

Course 2: Sourdough Advanced

Wednesday 17 March | 6pm–8pm

Once you’ve baked a few loaves, you’ll start noticing that every dough behaves a little differently.

This workshop helps you understand why.

You’ll learn:

how to spot over-fermentation and under-fermentation

lamination techniques

the difference between autolyse and fermentolyse

how fermentation affects your dough

practical troubleshooting when a bake does not go to plan

how to read your dough rather than simply follow a recipe

The goal is to move beyond following instructions and start baking with confidence and instinct.

*Take some of your sourdough experiments with you to let others try and to ask questions as everyone will have noticed different things happening.

Course 3: Sourdough Discard

Wednesday 7 April | 6pm–8pm

Your starter is thriving. Now what do you do with all that discard?

In the final session, Denise will show you how to make sourdough a lower-waste part of your kitchen.

You’ll learn:

what sourdough discard actually is

how to collect and store it safely

when and how to use it

what is happening during fermentation

the principles behind cooking and baking with discard

The workshop finishes with a live baking demonstration of two discard recipes, selected from options such as crackers, brownies, waffles or muffins.

You’ll leave with practical ways to use what would otherwise be waste, plus some very good reasons to keep a jar of discard in the fridge.

Who is this series for?

This series is ideal if:

you’ve always wanted to learn sourdough but do not know where to start

you have tried sourdough before but found it confusing

your starter is alive but your loaves are unpredictable

you want to understand why your dough behaves the way it does

you want practical troubleshooting skills rather than simply another recipe

you enjoy learning hands-on with plenty of opportunity to ask questions

No previous sourdough experience is required.

It would also make a brilliant gift for the bread lover in your life, particularly someone who has been talking about learning sourdough for approximately three years and has yet to actually do it.

What to bring

For the first session, please bring:

one clean medium-sized jar to take your starter home in

a notebook or phone if you like taking notes

comfortable clothes you do not mind getting a little flour on

your favourite baking bowl

We’ll let you know before each subsequent session if there is anything specific to bring.

All workshop equipment and ingredients used during the sessions are provided.

Your three dates

Wednesday 17 February 2027 | 6pm–8pm

Sourdough Basics

Wednesday 17 March 2027 | 6pm–8pm

Sourdough Advanced

Wednesday 7 April 2027 | 6pm–8pm

Sourdough Discard

All sessions are held at Perth City Farm, East Perth.

One booking. Three workshops. A proper sourdough education.

Rather than cramming everything into one class, Beyond the Loaf gives you time to practise between sessions, come back with questions and build your skills gradually.

By the end of the series, you should understand much more than how to follow a sourdough recipe. You’ll know what to look for, how to respond when something goes wrong and how to keep baking long after the course is finished.