Learn to bake bread at the all-new Tiong Bahru Bakery Sourdough Workshop

For years, Tiong Bahru Bakery has kept the Singapore public satisfied with its delicious sourdough bakes, and now the homegrown cafe chain is ready to kick things up a notch by imparting their knowledge of sourdough-making to all those who seek.

Presenting the brand new TBB Sourdough Workshop, this experience will introduce locals to fermentation techniques as well as the art of baking sourdough bread.

In fact, the workshop will be conducted in a new, dedicated space near TBB Foothills – a place meant as a platform for exploring everything sourdough.

Guided by chef Paul Albert, TBB’s sourdough expert and baker, participants will be brought on a sourdough and fermentation journey through every rise and fold.

While the Beginner class is a simple introduction to the fermentation process with the baking of a loaf, subsequent levels will feature recipes for aficionados to further their knowledge and skills.

Amateur bakers will also be pleased to know that all classes will use a 160-year-old mother dough (starter), given to chef Albert when he was working in Brazil.

The experience
Anyone who has tried to bake sourdough at home knows it involves more than just kneading, proofing and baking. There’s a whole science behind it, as we quickly learned during the four-hour workshop. So even though it was a Beginner class, come prepared to learn a host of key information for the perfect sourdough à la Tiong Bahru Bakery standard.

You’ll learn that you need the right temperature, humidity and pH level to feed and grow your starter since it consists of wild yeast and bacteria, and that a well-nourished starter along with flour, water and salt is how you kick-start the bread-making process. You’ll be taught how to fold the dough correctly before letting it rise (several times) before baking it.

The workshop
From November onwards, feel free to sign up for either the Beginner class ($207.85) conducted on weekdays or the Intermediate lesson ($300) on weekends from 2–6pm.

Participants from the Beginner sessions will even get to take home a TBB branded starter kit, boasting the full recipe as well as ingredients like the mother dough and a customised bread lame so they can continue baking at home.

Learn more about the new TBB Sourdough Workshop here.

A version of this article first appeared on SG Magazine.