Baking courses

A baking course in Zurich-Adliswil is the most direct route to bakes that actually turn out well at home: you do every step yourself while a professional watches over your shoulder. In our kitchen on Webereistrasse in Adliswil, around 20 minutes from Zurich main station, our pastry chefs show you what really matters with yeast dough, puff pastry and fine biscuits. You can ask all the questions a recipe never answers and take your bakes home with you.

Which baking courses do we offer?

This section brings together the courses on doughs that need one thing above all: feel and practice.

• Yeast pastry course: you learn to knead a yeast dough properly, give it enough time to prove and shape it neatly. Once you have done this with a professional, you will recognise the right moment in your own kitchen too. All dates are listed under the yeast pastry course.
• Puff pastry course: butter and dough are folded in several turns into wafer-thin layers – a process called laminating. You will see how cold the butter and dough need to be and how to roll out without crushing the layers. Dates are under the puff pastry course.
• Christmas biscuit course and confectionery course: these dates also appear in the list above. You will find the full description under our Guetzli, cookie and confectionery courses.

If bread is what you are after – Zopf, speciality loaves, pretzels or croissants – have a look at our bread courses.

Who are the courses for?

Whether you are making your very first yeast dough or finally want your puff pastry to rise evenly, on the course you feel how the dough should behave at every stage. That is exactly what no recipe can teach. A course also makes a lovely gift or a baking day out with a friend.

Public courses take place in Adliswil only, and this applies to all baking courses. As corporate or team events elsewhere in Switzerland we offer only our chocolate and praline courses, for example in Bern, Zug or Winterthur.

Tips from our kitchen

• Yeast dough likes it warm, not hot. Lukewarm liquid wakes the yeast up; liquid that is too hot damages it. Better to let the dough prove a little longer than to put it in the oven too early. The finger test helps: a gentle dent should slowly fill back in.
• Puff pastry needs cold. When laminating, butter and dough should be roughly the same firmness. If the butter softens, give the dough a rest in the fridge – otherwise the layers merge and the pastry stays flat.
• Cut, don't press. Always cut puff pastry with a sharp knife or wheel. Squashed edges stick together and will not rise.
• Rest biscuit dough. Shortcrust rolls out and cuts far more cleanly after a night in the fridge. Piped biscuits, on the other hand, are piped from fresh dough and baked straight away.

To practise after the course, try our apple roses made from crisp puff pastry or the sweet Easter bunnies made from yeast dough.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the baking courses take place?

All public courses are held in our course rooms at Webereistrasse 55/56 in Adliswil, about 20 minutes from Zurich main station. Company and team events elsewhere in Switzerland are available for chocolate and praline courses only.

What do I take home?

Your own bakes and all the recipes, so you can repeat everything at home. The details are in each course description, in the section on what you take home.

When are the next dates?

All current dates and available places are shown in the course list above. Click on a course to see the programme and availability in detail.