Bread courses

A bread baking course in Zurich-Adliswil teaches you what no recipe can explain: how a well-kneaded dough feels, when it has proved enough and how to shape it so it rises beautifully in the oven. In our kitchen on Webereistrasse in Adliswil, around 20 minutes from Zurich main station, you bake under the guidance of a professional baker. You take home your own bread and the recipes – and you will know how to get your next Sunday Zopf just right.

Which bread courses do we offer?

• Zopf course: Zopf, the Swiss plaited bread, is a favourite in many Swiss homes. You learn different plaiting techniques, from the classic butter Zopf to a five-strand plait, bake a Zopf made with ancient spelt (UrDinkel) and shape small rolls from Zopf dough.
• Speciality bread courses: you work with different flours, with yeast and with sourdough. Typical loaves include farmhouse bread, twisted bread with a seed crust, ancient spelt bread and wholemeal bread – ideal if you want more variety in your bread basket.
• Pretzel course: shape pretzels and other lye bakes properly, dip them and bake them until they develop the typical glossy brown crust.
• Croissant course: work butter into the dough, laminate, roll out and shape croissants – the supreme discipline among yeast doughs.

The exact content, dates and available places are shown in the course list above and on each course page.

Which course suits you?

If you have never baked bread before, the Zopf course is a lovely place to start: yeast dough is forgiving and plaiting is great fun. If you already bake regularly and want to learn more about flours, sourdough and crust, the speciality bread course is for you. Pretzels and croissants appeal to anyone who wants to discover the finer side of the baker's craft.

Public courses take place in Adliswil only, and this applies to all bread 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

• Time is the most important ingredient. Dough that is allowed to prove slowly and cool develops far more flavour. Better to use less yeast and give it a night in the fridge.
• Go easy on flour when shaping. Too much flour on the worktop dries the dough out and stops it from sealing properly.
• Steam for the crust. A tray of water in the preheated oven or a spray of water as you load the bread lets the loaf rise before the crust sets.
• Round loaves need support. Soft doughs hold their shape best in a proving basket (banneton) – and you get the floury pattern on the crust for free.
• Glaze your Zopf twice. Brushed with egg once before proving and again just before baking, the Zopf shines evenly.

To practise after the course, try our Grittibänz recipe – the Swiss classic made from Zopf dough.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the bread courses take place?

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.

Which bread course is best for beginners?

For your first steps we recommend the Zopf course. There you learn the basics of yeast dough that you will need for every other bread.

What do I take home?

Your own bread and all the course recipes. The details are in each course description, in the section on what you take home.