Bread Baking Class by Tomohiro Nogami

Last week I attended a bread baking class that really suitable for the people who want to open their own bakery. Don't get me wrong, ^^, I'm still happy with my life and have no plan to open the bakery. But I want to learn more about professional bread baking, and this class was the best for this field. 

This was my 4th time at  PBA World (P: Pâtisserie, B: Boulangerie A: Arts) and many people in the class were my friends (we knew each other from the earlier class, so it's good to see each other again. 

The instructor was chef Tomohiro Nogami, he is Japanese, but he lives in Taiwan and has the bakery name Nogami Boulangerie.

Not only that he's the owner of the famous bakery, but he's also the trainer for the Taiwanese Bread World Cup's team too. 

And he asked us all the time that did we want to go to the Bread World Cup,  so he can beat us with his team, ^^".  
As always, we had an interpreter, who helped us to communicate with the chef (Thank you ka, Nong Kib) .

This class was an intensive class, we leaned 17 kinds of bread in 4 days, and use the base dough to create many varieties of bread (I couldn't remember how many, haha. 

The bread that we learned divided into 2 types: 1. Hard bread and  Traditional and 2. Soft bread (included sweet and filled bread)

1. Pain de Lodeve
2. Baguette
3. Short time baguette
4. Focaccia
5. Pain au Leaven
6. Brioche
7. Croissant
8. Tourte de Seigle
9. Raisins Bread
10. Seigle au miel
11. Butter roll
12. La Mouna
13. Toast
14. Water Roux Loaf
15. Japanese Sweet Bread
16. Rustic Bread
17. Country Bread

For this class, there were 3 important things that we learned. 
1. Choosing Flour for each type of bread  
2. Temperature control 
3. Force and strength of dough (this was the one that I really interested in) 

Temperature control is what we always heard when making bread, as the yeast is living thing. 

The temperature of everything ex. flour or liquid can affect the dough temperature, and the temperature for each type of yeast is different too. 

So we always saw both the chef and the assistant using the thermometer all the time, hehe.  

For the flour part, choosing the flour is not only affect the texture of the bread. Different types of flour are not only different in protein content, but each type of flour has different aroma and minerals too. 

The controlling force and strength of dough affect the structure of the finished bread. If we understand and know how to control the Force and strength of dough, we can create the kind of bread that we want.

To learn about the Force and strength of dough is very detailed, and I felt like I never known about it before!!! 

Short Time Baguette

The container that we use, how many times that we need to fold, or how hard we need to punch the dough, all of them are the ways to control Force and strength.

Nong Lhin with Short time baguette

This time we were not divided into a group and we didn't have to weight the ingredients.  

Short Time Chocolate Baguette

That I think it's good, as we had so many, many things to do. 

But it's a hand on class, so we had to pre-shape, shape, cut and score the bread. 

For pre-shaping, and shaping, some people may think that it's not important, but I learned many things in this part.

Tourte de Seigle (all rye bread) 

Because the different shape does not only make the bread more interesting, but it also affects the texture of the finished bread too.

Tourte de Seigle (all rye bread) before baking

From the same dough, we can turn it into many types of bread.

The best time to add the butter

And by using the same dough to create many types of bread, we can manage the time that we use in the bakery too.

Checking gluten developing

Because we will have plenty of type of bread without making many types of dough.

And we will have a lot of product for selling in the bakery.

By managing the time and dough making, we will have the delicious bread for selling at the right time and still have time for sleeping too ^^. 

Pain de Lodeve: Raisin

Because the bread has yeast that is a living thing as the main ingredient, we have to calculate times for resting, rising and baking.

If we don't know how to manage the time, we will never have a chance to sleep, because we have to wake up at 3 am. to making bread for selling in the morning.

Country Bread

Manage the time is not only for us, but it affects the texture of the bread too. 

Country Bread and Pain de Lodeve

We have to control the amount of the yeast that we use, the temperature of the dough and the humidity.

And the baking temperature and method too. 

You may not think about baking as the whole before, but everything is related.

Or I must say that it starts from creating the recipe.

Eleven-san (Chef's assistant)

For this class we use Baker percentage (the recipe that calculate the other ingredient by the weight of the flour).  

If you do a lot of baking you may know about it before.

I won't talk about the Baker percentage detail in this post ^^ as I think that many of you know about it.

By using Baker percentage, calculating or adjusting the recipe (to make the bread the way we want) will be easier, and it's easy to calculate the weight of the finished dough too. 

That's very important for the bakery, as we have to control the cost too.

You may think that this class was very serious, right? 

P'Poo

But the fact was, we laughed all the time.

As it's so much fun.

Maybe because we're always full, haha.

We baked non-stop for 4 days, and we had a load of bread.

So we had to (or must ^^) taste (or eat) all the bread.

With delicious bread, we could keep on baking and learning. 

Because no matter how fun the class was.

We still paid a lot of attention to shaping and baking.

As the bread that created for selling has to be both delicious and beautiful.

It's very important for the bakery. 

To have consistency in making good bread.

The customer will be happy to find the delicious bread that every piece has the same volume and look. 

Making Rustic Bread by Hand Knead Method

Not only using the machine in making bread, but I had a chance to hand knead the Rustic Bread.

And I wanted to be at least 10 cm taller!!!!!!!

As I love to make bread by hand, I didn't have much trouble kneading it, but I needed a chair!!! ^^ Well, I  really wanted to be taller, each time that I face this problem.

Rustic Bread

Anyway, the Rustic bread came out of the oven very beautiful, and delicious.

And I was proud of it.

The time that I attended that bread class, there was a Wagashi class at PBA World (P: Pâtisserie, B: Boulangerie A: Arts) too.

The instructor was chef Toru Tsuchie (土江徹), the third generation of Fukusendo (福泉堂) in Shimane (島根県).

Wagashi (Japanese sweet) is very delicate and beautiful.

The Wagashi class was held in the Arts room (at PBA World there are 3 room Pâtisserie,  Boulangerie, and Arts) 

With Chef Toru Tsuchie (土江徹) from Wagashi Class 

Actually, I really wanted to attend this class too, but I couldn't. so I asked chef  Toru Tsuchie for permission to observe and take the photo in the Wagashi class.  

And Chef was very kind to let me get into the class, (he loves to take the photo too ^^).

On the 24th of November was the last day for Wagashi class, so after the bread class, I went to the Arts room. 

And I saw all the sweets that the students made with attention, and concentration, this room was very quiet.
Thank you chef Toru Tsuchie (土江徹)  for giving me a chance to take photos of beautiful Japanese sweets.

And now, it's time for the last day for our class too.

We were still happy with a laugh and delicious aroma from freshly baked bread.

Most of the bread that we made on this day were filled.

I think it's a chef's plan, so we would have delicious bread to take home. 

We made filling and topping for bread.

All of them were delicious, and my family members loved them.

Brioche

I got a lot of knowledge from this class.

Inside of the Brioche

Learning from Chef with different background, we will get a different point of knowledge too.

The last time that I learned from chef Sebastien Chevallier, as he is French, Skill on traditional bread that came from the experience was exceptional.

But this time it's more about the science of baking.

I don't think that I can stop learning ^^.

But after learning, we have to practice until we can perfect it.

Delicious Cannelés by P' Ooy

Every time that I attend baking class, I get many things, not only the knowledge but also new good friends. 

Delicious Thai Sweets by P' Poo

Maybe the atmosphere of the school that makes us relax.

And now it's time to say good bye.

Thank you so much chef Tomohiro Nogami for giving us a load of knowledge more than we think. 

Thank you, Eleven-san for working so hard (and smiling all the time after the 2nd day, hehe) 
Thank you all the staff at PBA. for helping and taking care of us.

Thank you, Tomohiro Nogami's wife who's always smiled and helped us as much as she could ^^.

And at last, Thank you everyone (P'Poo, P'Ooy, P'Meaw, P'Nhoi, Khun Keng, Khun Duen, Nong Lhin, Poo, Nong Kung) for a great time, learning in this class couldn't be this happy with YOU!!!!

If you are interested in Bread Baking class By chef Tomohiro Nogami, you can contact PBA World for more information about the Bread Baking class in 2020.

Bread Baking Class by Tomohiro Nogami