Do I need any baking experience?

No. The class is for beginners and covers everything from starter care to shaping, scoring and baking in your home oven.

How long is the class and what do I take home?

Plan on 3.5 to 4 hours. You leave with a live starter in a mason jar, a dehydrated backup starter, dough you made in class, a laminated recipe guide and two lame blades.

Bring your favorite mixing bowl for carrying your dough home, an apron and a notebook if you like. It also helps to buy a bag of organic whole wheat or rye flour before class.

Children 10 and older are welcome if an adult comes too. Each child needs their own seat booking.

How much is a private class?

Private beginner classes run $499 for two people, $699 for three, $799 for four, $999 for five and $1,100 for six. The private cinnamon roll workshop is $159 per guest for groups of 6 to 10.

Home kitchen · Mesa, AZ

For the Love of Sourdough: A Desert Organic Sourdough House

Beginner sourdough classes at a family microbakery's 1968 home kitchen in East Mesa

5.0145 Google reviews

About For the Love of Sourdough: A Desert Organic Sourdough House

For the Love of Sourdough is a licensed cottage microbakery. Nicole Nungoor and her family run it out of their 1968 home in East Mesa. Besides organic bread drops every two weeks, Nicole teaches one core class, Sourdough School for Beginners, around an 8 foot family table. Classes are capped at 10 people, and the bakery has a 5 rating from 145 Google reviews.

The class runs about 3.5 to 4 hours in two parts. The first 60 to 90 minutes cover starter care: temperature, feeding ratios and the science of wild yeast. You feed a starter to take home in a mason jar, and you also get a dehydrated backup. The rest of the session works through Nicole's Desert Organic Sourdough recipe. You mix, shape, score and laminate, and you learn how fermentation behaves in desert heat. You go home with dough to bake yourself and a laminated guide that adds einkorn and four recipes using Oatman Farms flour.

The class is built for complete beginners. Private sessions run Friday and Saturday mornings. Groups of 6 to 10 can also book a private sourdough cinnamon roll workshop.