San Francisco Baking Institute

The 5-day Artisan Bread II program was an amazing one. Really enjoyed and learnt very much through both classroom lectures and hands-on practices. The instructor was very professional and knowledgeable. The supporting staff was also extremely helpful not only throughout the 5 days and even during my visit a few days before the class. Had so much fun meeting new friends from afar as well. I am very much looking forward to going for some other programs to learn more during my next visit to SF.

The San Francisco Baking Institute is an outstanding place for anyone passionate about artisan bread and pastry. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable, hands-on, and generous with professional tips whether you’re a beginner or working baker. The classes are organized, supportive, and packed with valuable information—plus, you’ll leave with loads of delicious baked goods and new friends. Highly recommended for anyone serious about baking.

San Francisco Baking Institute continues to excel with an excellent curriculum, knowledgeable instructors, and a team. I had the pleasure of taking the first milling and whole grains class. I was inspired, impressed, and grateful to what extent this team pushed to pack the week with milling techniques, hands-on dough mixing, shaping, baking, and tasting. Moreover, the discussions on real-world techniques and their application in bakeries or at home when baking was enlightening. We delved into production schedules, mills, grain sourcing, and real-life events in which these instructors shared their business experiences and baking experiences in their current and past bakeries. Thank you again for another exceptional and world-class week. ( tipping my hat )

I’ve been using the Advanced Bread and Pastry text book for years in the production bakery setting, and finally had a chance to attend the Artisan 1 class earlier this month. Wow! The curriculum, instruction, staff, production team, equipment - all of it made for an excellent learning experience that somehow made me even more excited about bread and pastry than I already was. Big thanks to the whole team who shared so much with us! Can’t wait to come back for more.

I took the Artisan I: Systematic approach to bread making in February, 2025. It's a week long course and it's so well structured and designed. Theo, our instructor, was so patient and knowledgeable and amazing. We made about 12-13 bread during this week and learnt so much about the science and fundamentals. Everyone else in the institute is also so welcoming and friendly and helpful. I seriously didn't expect the class to be this impactful, especially because I've been baking bread for a long time. 10/10 would recommend.

Highly recommend, if you want to learn bread and bread business, don't miss out! I read in a review that someone could not pick up the pace with the instruction, that is completely not true! The course is well designed and structure to perfection, they thought as many different type of breads and what is more important they thought us a different technique with each! So that later we can apply ourselves and be bakers! Bakery is a fast paced business, baking at home is also for a fast pace mom! This course is great for both.

I've taken 3 seperate courses here, the instructors are great and the learning experience is phanominal

I just took the Artisan 1 systematic approach to bread making class with Stephan Barbiero and it was AMAZING. I would consider myself a pretty experienced home baker with regard to cookies, cakes, scones and the like but had always been too intimidated by bread to try it at home. This five day course taught me so much. Stephan is an incredible instructor who broke down very complex information in an easy to digest way, continually checked for understanding of concepts and created a very hands on, open environment for students to do/touch/make mistakes and ultimately learn! The course is not for the faint of heart - it is both physically and mentally challenging but well worth it to tap in to Stephan’s knowledge. Wonderful experience that’s equipped me to be a more confident baker - if you are thinking about it, think no more!

The 5-day Artisan Bread II program was an amazing one. Really enjoyed and learnt very much through both classroom lectures and hands-on practices. The instructor was very professional and knowledgeable. The supporting staff was also extremely helpful not only throughout the 5 days and even during my visit a few days before the class. Had so much fun meeting new friends from afar as well. I am very much looking forward to going for some other programs to learn more during my next visit to SF.

This review is based on their online store! Good selection of baking tools at excellent prices, with great customer service. I had an issue with my order and they responded promptly to fix it! Overall, extremely satisfied with their response and the products I purchsed.

I took a Saturday class here--braided and enriched bread. It was amazing! The technical aspects of the class included a 45 minute lecture to review all what we would do over the day, then we jumped right into working on making our doughs. Coffee with pastries were served in the morning and a lovely lunch was also provided. Justin was an excellent teacher and he had a supportive assistant that made everything go smoothly. I would recommend the classes here for folks that are either considering a career in baking or perhaps have a small business already. I would not recommend the classes here for the typical home baker simply because the scale of working with the equipment and some of the terminology will not so much apply to the home baker. But if you have the time and the dollars, why not? You will learn techniques you can use at home plus a lot lot more. You definitely will not take for granted the skill that a good bakery has and hopefully will try to support them even more!

Took the week long viennoiserie class and it was wonderful! It wasn't just croissants and brioche buns, but rather tons and tons of different viennoiserie baked goods that we learned to make. The instructor and learning formats were professional and organized. The class was very hands on. Students ended up taking plenty of baked goods home each day, with enough leftovers to donate. My instructor Miyuki was helpful and approachable-- she even helped me with some of my questions a few months after the class ended, when I was practicing at home. A lot of students were professional bakers or those who own restaurants/bakeries. Some of us were home bakers taking the class for fun. Highly recommended! The class gave me hope in making professional appearing croissants at home. Can't wait to take another class with them.

My work sent a group of us for a team building activity here, how cool is that? Did you know that croissants derive from the term Viennoiseries ("things of Vienna")? Sounds fancy huh? According to Wiki, Viennoiseries are "baked goods made from a yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread, or from puff pastry, but with added ingredients (particularly eggs, butter, milk, cream and sugar) giving them a richer, sweeter character, approaching that of pastry.The dough is often laminated. Viennoiseries are typically eaten at breakfast or as snacks" in other words, with the amount I brought home, I could have eaten these for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then some. The Viennoiserie class is typically a 5 day workshop class but was able to roll the 5 day class into one day for our group. The dough used was made ahead of time and that's where the process usually takes a lot of time. We made Croissants; pain au chocolat; Danish pastries; used left over dough to make monkey bread. Each of us brought boxes and boxes home to share with our family. We ended up freezing some because there was so many pastries. After taking this class, I will never eat or buy croissants from Costco or any supermarket ever again!

I just finished day four (I have one more day) of SFBI's "Cake Bases, Creams, and Composition"class, and I honestly can hardly believe all the amazing things we've made in this class. I've brought home two finished and beautiful cakes every day - with Monday as the exception, but I brought home cupcakes that night. The course is fast paced, and full of great information and tips regarding cake baking and decorating. Miyuki, our instructor is absolutely great. She's patient and friendly while also keeping a quick pace and the class constantly moving forward. My class is full, with 16 students. We work in teams of 4 people, but every goes home with their very own cake - typically a 6" cake. The facility is set up in a very user friendly fashion and every student has their own "kit" of baking utensils at their station. The tables are a little high, but I didn't find that to be an issue. I would recommend this class to anyone who wants to see how a variety of cakes are made and assembled, as well as expand their historical knowledge regarding fancy cakes. So far we've made: Carrot Cake, Le Fraisier, Black Forest, Inakati Roll, Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, and a Sachertorte. I can't say enough good things about this course, and I'm already looking forward to taking another class.

I've done two courses at the SF baking institute (sourdough and bagels&pretzels). While the classes aren't cheap, they are worth it. Very informative and you go home with a ton of delicious baked goods. I look forward to taking more classes here.

I attended the Institute this week and I was blown out of my skin!!!! The Instructor or as I call her "The Bomb.Com" Miyuki!! she makes you fall more in love with the art of bread making. Thank You Miyuki for making this course a memorable experience. I also want to thank Babeth!! Also, the Guru, I call him the Rockstar!! Thank You Guru for my signed book and pic!! Merry Christmas to all of you!! Please thank the kitchen for their awesome food every day. A.C

This review is based on their consultant services they offer. I called the school to get a quote on helping me with a recipe I spoke with Cesilia my first email was on 3/22 and she responded promptly after several back and forth emails she sent my request to Micheal and I spoke with him he was going to send me a quote. After several weeks I emailed again and was told he was out of the country and they apologized. As of today 7/25 still nothing no response no apology zilch! Totally unprofessional and I do not recommend them at all.

This was my first class at SFBI. I attended a one-day braided bread class and had a wonderful learning experience. The class was well-organized, and instructor was knowledgeable and detailed. He walked us through every step of the processes, and came around each table to check our progress. The individual attention was much appreciated and needed as we did many different braiding techniques. I left feeling confident that I can reproduce what I made in class at home. Staff was very friendly, and the provided breakfast, lunch and snacks were delicious.

I'm going to copy the rubric of a reviewer below since it will help organize this review. CLASS: Viennoiserie at home (2 day class) CLASS MATERIALS/ ENVIRONMENT: Each student is provided with a folder of all formulas, recipes, and other information. Each table holds four students. Bring a pen to take notes and a permanent marker to label your dough. These materials are not provided. Another note about the environment/kitchen, I don't know if this is standard but the floor was especially slick. A lot of people in the class commented that they were all trying not to fall. I had to be very intentional about walking extremely carefully. CLASS FORMAT: There were about 15 students in the class. Everyone was a home baker or hobbyist. I was surprised how many students came from far away. One student traveled all the way from Phoenix! The first day started with a lecture in a small classroom. After that, we went to the kitchen and watched the instructor demonstrate how to make the pastry and then we would go back to our own stations to recreate it. After about two hours, we would get a bio break. The next break would be lunch and then we'd power through the rest of the afternoon. The instructor was thorough in explaining everything so it was easy to follow. Plus if you needed any additional help or clarification, there were also two assistants walking around. The instructor was great at keeping us on track. On the first day, we made croissants using the dough that the instructor had made the night before. Then we made our own dough so that we could use it for the second day of class. While this class was specifically focused on baking at home, they also showed us how to use some of the commercial equipment like the sheeter or industrial mixer. Everyone worked individually on their own pastries for the most part. The only time we worked in pairs or as a table was when we made the brioche since it was easier to make one large batch of brioche dough instead of small batches. MISCELLANEOUS: A simple breakfast and lunch were served each day. Breakfast would consist of two different pastries or fruit and a coffee bar. For lunch we had rice, a protein, a salad and in house baked goodies. OUTCOMES: At the end of the first day we took home one dozen croissants. On the second day, we took home about three dozen baked goods (chocolate croissants, regular, mini brioches, danish pastries). Pastries were super tasty so these recipes were definitely high caliber. I knew nothing about croissants before so I learned a lot more about the process and have a better understanding of ingredients and techniques. SUGGESTIONS: I removed one star because of some logistical mishaps on SFBI's part. When registering for the class, the website stated that it would be a full day on the first day and a partial day on the second day. It ended up being two full days both days and we only found out accidentally because a student had asked about it during class. Since there were a lot of people who traveled from out of town, I think one student had to scramble to quickly reschedule their flight. There were reminder emails sent out leading up to the class but they only referenced the start time. Listing the end time could have helped people plan accordingly. While we were given reference materials, I noticed we frequently had to make annotations or adjustments in the notes. For example, the instructor had us make adjustments to the temperature, pastry size, proofing time, etc written in the reference materials. Given the cost of these classes, I thought it wouldn't have been unreasonable to expect that the recipes have been scaled to how we're learning it in class to make for a cleaner experience. This last one is minor but everyone in the class got a cute name tag except for me :( Suggestion would be to double check name tags against enrollment list.

An all-around fantastic learning environment! This school caters to both the professional baker and home baker, alike. The curriculum is intelligently formulated: very informative to the professional, without being too much of a challenge for the home baker. Small class sizes, taught by instructors with loads of industry experience. As a pastry professional, I took the 5-day Viennoiserie course in order to brush up on some skills, while learning plenty new. It was well worth my time and money, as I'd traveled from St. Paul, Minnesota, in order to attend. I was shocked at how much material we were able to cover in less than a week, without ever feeling overwhelmed. Mostly hands-on learning, supplemented with daily lecture time. I found the staff to be incredibly friendly and helpful. They are helping to build a great baking community. I will be back!

I took the Baguettes at Home weekend workshop and absolutely loved it. After thinking about taking a class from SFBI for several months, I finally decided to do it. We spent two full days learning about, making and eating bread; for me it doesn't get much better than that. Frank, our instructor, is a knowledgeable, easygoing and friendly guy. He's the perfect ambassador for SFBI. Our class ran smoothly and Frank made sure to answer our questions, show us proper technique, explain the process and much more. He even made sure to show us how to use our home oven to get results similar to the commercial deck ovens. Each full day included breakfast and lunch made by SFBI. Our class was an eclectic group; I remember a father/daughter pair, a girl visiting from Israel for the summer, at software engineer and at least two people interested in starting their own bakery in the near future. Each of us took home at least 15 loaves each day. One of the students said it was his fourth SFBI class and I can understand why.

All I can say is.....FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!! I just finished up a week long pastry course, specifically the entry level course 'Exploring Ingredients and Techniques'. Let me start by saying, I've never taken any other baking course elsewhere so I have no comparison. I'm what I would call a 'passionate amateur' and just bake things at home. But I was completely blown away by the amount of information and skilled knowledge that was provided to me during the week. Here are some of my highlights: INSTRUCTOR: Juliette taught my class and she is really, truly, great. She was extremely knowledgeable about both the art and science of pastry and was a veritable font of knowledge. She was always willing to answer questions and offer advice. Plus her style of teaching was very informative but kept things moving so it didn't get stale or boring. On top of that, she was also pretty funny, which made the class entertaining. CLASS MATERIALS/ ENVIRONMENT: We were provided with a written supplement to the class which contained the details of the lecture presentations, recipes, tips, references, samples, and more! It was very well thought out and I'm positive I'll reference it many, many times in the future. The actual lab environment is well laid out and easy to work in. There were ample tools and ingredients and I didn't find myself lacking anything. Plus I learned to use some larger production style equipment that I would never get to use at home (e.g. 40 quart mixers, rack ovens, sheeters, etc.). Everything was clean and organized. CLASS FORMAT: It's a 5 day class. I absolutely loved their approach to mixed lecture and hands on work. I had a number of people in my class who had attended culinary school or other training and they all commented on the effectiveness of this approach and the full day format (we were working from pretty much 8-4 each day, with an hour break for lunch). The first two days we spent a few hours in lecture during each morning but it wasn't remotely boring. Juliette made it interactive and was very clear and concise. The rest of the time was pretty much all hands-on. The class max size is 16 and we had 15 in our class. We worked in 'tables' of four and further defined teams of two. The approached really allowed us all to be involved in pretty much everything and also to learn from each other. MISCELLANEOUS: We were served breakfast pastries and lunch each day and it was quite tasty! It was hearty, well prepared fare and a nice variety. OUTCOMES: I couldn't believe the sheer number of products we made during the week. Every day you get to take home things that you've made in class. Often there is a LOT to choose from. My family, friends and neighbors were quite happy to be the recipients of all this yummy baked goodness! I had such a fantastic time in this class and learned so much that I decided to sign up for the Cake Bases, Creams and Compositions class in a week. I'll let you know if that one is as stellar!

Michel Suas, Miyuki and the staff at SFBI are BRILLIANT artists. Not only are their breads, pastries and cookies superb, but their artistry is unparalleled. This past weekend Michel and Miyuki created Jean Paul Gauliter dresses made out of bread. That's right, couture dresses made from bread and pastries. This is the most professional, creative and inspired team I have ever worked with.

I took the three-day workshop "Special Dietary Needs" last September, in which we got good hands-on experience working with gluten-free flours and sugar substitute for people with gluten intolerance or diabetes. SFBI is better known for its artisanal bread making classes for regular wheat bread and the founder Michael also started the Thoroughbread bakery in SF. As far as gluten-free and sugar-free baking though they are not the most experienced. After the 3-day workshop I came away with some good recipes but I found that the gluten-free recipes I found from on-line bloggers and from some well known gluten-free bakers cookbooks work better, so I have not used any of their recipes yet. I did learn that gluten-free sour dough bread is possible and we did make the best sour dough bread ever in the class. But without the starter I have not been able to replicate since the workshop.

I took the "Systematic Approach to Bread" course at SFBI and found the class immensely useful in helping me gain an in-depth understanding of the function of different ingredients as well as the baking process. The level of detail in the design of the learning experience was truly impressive. I will definitely come back for another course! Highlights of the course: - Organized, state-of-the-art equipment and facility - Highly knowledgeable and friendly instructor - Thorough, well-organized course materials with a good balance of lecture time and hands-on practice - Daily lunch provided was delicious and made with fresh ingredients. On the last day of class they even gave us a bottle of wine to share at lunch! Thank you SFBI!

they have the skill in producing product....but they dont have teaching skills....I took a beginners class on a Saturday, and the instructor isn't interested in , questions beginners have.....the interests for SFBI is in the education income. Not teaching people

The go to place for fair priced bread baking supplies ...it's a haul from the east bay but the savings is worth it when compared to bread baking sites and even amazon.Can't wait to take the week long course here to take my baking to the next level ..very nice and friendly staff.

I am so happy I stumbled upon this school. I am a novice home baker and always wanted to try taking a class or two to step up my game but everything I found felt like it was more a demonstration-style class that would give us a few great recipes, but that's it. This seemed more like it would teach me techniques and skills that I could take home and translate into other cookbooks and recipes. I was nervous to go to the first class and not sure what to expect, but by the end of the first day of the first class I was hooked and I have been back for 7 other classes so far. Every time I walk into the doors on a Monday morning to start a new class it feels like I have come home again. I have learned more than I ever knew there was to learn and I have been able to translate that knowledge into tons of artisnal baking for friends and family. I have also found that the techniques and fundamentals I learned gave me the confidence to translate those skills into other recipes, and I am not just limited to the recipes we learned in class. The staff and facilities are top notch and the camaraderie with the other classmates makes it all the more fun. I have met people from all over the country, and even Canada, that I still keep in touch with today and we swap recipes and email each other for advice/critique, or just to boast when we've made something particularly awesome. It is a great opportunity to meet a wide variety of people who share like interests, to learn mountains of information from passionate accomplished professionals in the field, to take home some great recipes and tons of finished product, and get the opportunity to use all of the fancy equipment and product in the classroom. They have a list of supplies (both food and equipment) that you can order direct from them and the prices are reasonable. The receptionist will put it all together and have it ready for you to take on your way out the door Friday afternoon!

I took the laminated pastry course: croissants, danish etc.. I have since opened my own bakery and it was an enormous help. The instructors, the course design, the equipment, the class materials all were perfect. By the way, the book they published, Advanced Bread and Pasty is one of the best around (but it is definitely for someone with baking experience. On top of the effectiveness of the courses, it is also a fun enjoyable time. Hopefully some day I can send one of my bakers here in Dayton OH to take some courses.

A-HA! So good Italian/French-style crusty bread exists in the Bay Area! Thank you ACME, PANORAMA etc etc for supporting me during these years but these guys just RULE! Well they don't sell over here but they opened a bakery in the city recently (http://www.yelp.com/biz/thorough-bread-and-pastry-san-francisco) where you can buy all sort of baked goodies. I really haven't had a baguette or a ciabatta with that malty baked flavor and a perfect crust/bread ratio in years....at least since I came to the US. They offer terrific 5 days classes/workshops for 980$ which, I believe, it's not an outrageous price point since you are getting the most professional training you can get. They also have a fantastic wood-fire oven where we cooked some pizzas and had a marvellous time and they just released their first book (Advanced Bread and Pastry......more or less 60$). Let's see if I can save 920$ by studying at home.....

I just got home from the weekend two day class of sourdough breads. It was an exciting experience crammed with hands-on learning. We walked in the door met the instructor, did some introductions, and bam we were into the starter. The day moved quickly with brief lectures or demonstrations to mixing, pre shaping, shaping. All together we made six different kinds of sourdoughs and about four loves each. So each evening you took home lots of bread. The instructor, Frank, was knowledgeable and he was adept at communicating his knowledge to his students. He constantly wandered the kitchen giving advice and helping. The facility was well done. We had everything we needed. The course is for the home-baker as well as the professional. I definitely will take another class. I came home with a passion to get my starter fired up and baking. The Institute is located very close to San Francisco airport and many of my fellow sixteen class members stayed in nearby hotels.

I took four bread baking classes here, and it was really helpful and fun. I definitely recommend their classes to anyone interested in bread.

I struggled with a 3 or 4 star rating and decided to go 3 primarily due to the long term outcome of not completely understanding how to bake bread or troubleshoot mistakes and to be realistic for people reading the yelp reviews. I took the Sourdough Bread at Home weekend workshop in November 2014. Great facility and commercial kitchens to work in. However, the class was lacking for me. Kate was the instructor, but did a poor job in explaining baker's percentages or how to calculate recipes for home baking. The class says beginner friendly, but it seems like they expect you to have bread baking knowledge already. I have a lot of home pastry baking knowledge, but wanted to learn about bread, which I have little experience with. There are a lot of hands on pieces, which was great! We hand mixed the dough, let it proof, and shaped and baked the breads. While overall it was a great class, I felt that I left without much knowledge to bake on my own. I didn't come back with a clear understanding of how to modify recipes for making different kinds of breads. I still don't understand bread hydration and how to calculate it. There were a lot of questions from others in the class (16 of us) about how to even start a starter, a lot of confusion about bread percentages, proofing times for smaller batches, etc. At the lunch breaks a lot of us were chatting and agreed that Kate skipped over a lot of information that beginners would need like "the why" for a lot of pieces in the bread baking process. She also rushed the shaping portion of the class. I know that comes with practice as well, but Kate would come over and observe without providing any real helpful tips and just do another demo "this is how you do it". The bread was delicious and my friends and families loved being treated to it, but I've had a hard time replicating my outcomes from class at home - taste is good, shape is not. The materials they give us in class also have hardly any instruction so it's not a very good reference unless you take a ton of notes. Overall, I'm still glad I took the class, but I left with a lot of questions I felt were never adequately answered in a way for a beginner to understand. There were quite a few in the class who came to the same consensus. I was looking at taking the intro to pastry line class, but just found out Kate is the instructor again for this series which is a little disappointing for me. I have more experience in pastry so perhaps this would be okay for me as I have a stronger background in pastry, but my experience with Kate as my teacher in the sourdough class doesn't make me as excited to spend the cash for another pastry class with just an "okay" teacher. I wish I had one of the instructors in the other 5 star reviews for the sourdough class.

SFBI is in danger of shutting down, due to government bureaucracy. If you are a friend or fan of SFBI, please sign the online petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/california-bureau-for-private-postsecondary-education-allow-san-francisco-baking-institute-to-remain-open

WOW! I took the 5-day Fundementals of Pastry course last November 2007 and I had the most amazing time. I took this class because I've been thinking of a career change and I love to bake. So I wanted to see if I could handle it. Brian our instructor was terrific. It was part classroom and hands-on. Mostly hands on. We made so many things I couldn't believe it. Brownies, Lemon Bars, Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, Banana Bread, Marble Bread, Cookies, Puff Pastry, Blueberry Scones, Cheesecake, so much stuff, and that was just in a week!!! They gave us a folder full of information and recipes. Plus the best part was that they served us lunch everyday, and it was delicious. Lunch was made fresh everyday by their interns. yum yum! I learned so much and had an unbelievable time. You'r on your feet alot and class sometimes didn't end exactly at 5pm - but SO WHAT! I loved it. It's worth every penny. I wish I could take the full time 6 month pastry course but like so many, I have to work and pay for bills, so for now I will just have to use up my vacation days from work.

My wife gave me this pastry course 'Exploring Ingredients and Techniques' (5-days) for a Christmas present. Wanted to be taught by professionals for many years. I searched, literally, all over the country for what would work, and what I could get out of it. I selected this and thrilled about the decision. Without a doubt, this is a great spot to learn. A few things that are important if you're looking. How much time do you spend cleaning up? Here they had a full-time washer taking your mess, sanitizing and placing back on the rack for reuse. Ingredients? Top notch, and as much as you needed at anytime. Could even redo an expensive piece if you busted the first time (yep, happened to me, so I can speak with some authority here). You get what you pay for. Staff? Friendly from top to bottom. Never an issue with anything I requested from directions to recommendations on where to stay (by the by, the best place to stay is the Staybridge. In room kitchen and shuttle to SBFI daily, best deal for the $ spent . . . and believe me, I looked). Facilities? Huge and more room than you could ask for. Bread baking next room over and we would swap treats for bread with other students. They were as interested in us as we were of them. Food? Served lunch everyday. Not the Ritz, but good. A protein and salad + desserts made by the commercial side of the building. No real time to get out to a local spot anyway. Instruction? These folks know their stuff. If they don't know an answer (rarely) they will find out. Class size? For now anyway, 16. Very interesting group from all over the world. The mix was a hoot. From very experienced to those who couldn't spell f-l-o-u-r. I'm about in the middle and noted it seemed to work for everyone. One final note. Unlike many schools I investigated, this was not a social hour. Yes, plenty of time to mix it up with folks, but the real object was to learn. Couple of downsides. Sometimes it is exceptionally noisy and hard to hear the instructor with all the activity, and the time on your feet. Forewarned, a whole lot of standing and working recipes with nowhere to park a butt. Since I did not take the bread course(s), I can't comment on the owner's book, nor how the bread course went except for some very positive comments by a few students staying at the Staybridge too. Taking anything home on Friday was a challenge. I do not live in CA so I froze what I could and lined a large box with newspapers checked it as baggage on my flight. Most of it made it, some a bit worse for wear, but worth a try rather than leave it. Loved it . . . a great week. Wish I lived closer.

If your looking for a place to learn about the art of Bread & Pastry baking ,then look no further. This is the place. Relax, Its not stuck up & rigid. you will feel comfortable & welcome. There's an amazing atmosphere that fills that place. learning new skills can be scary & the last thing you need is to be intimidated. After my first class i was hooked. I guarantee you will be back for more.......