NOTE: iphone and ipad users, CLICK HERE to register for class.

What’s on the Menu:

Care and keeping of your sourdough starter
French Baguettes and Bâtards
Marbled Rye Sandwich Loaf
Sourdough Bagels
Pane Siciliano
Irish Stout Sandwich Loaf with Cooked Barley
Plus, sourdough discard inspiration recipes

It’s never too late to become a great home sourdough baker—or to deepen your knowledge, increase your confidence and boost your creativity. Join guest teacher Peter Reinhart, a baking instructor at Johnson & Wales and author of “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice,” among other books, for a three-part baking Intensive that will transform your relationship to sourdough in just one month.

This Intensive is made up of three sessions on three consecutive Wednesdays. The sessions are from 6-7:30 pm EST on February 5, 12 and 19. Students are encouraged to attend all three sessions, but if you cannot attend all three in real time, don’t worry: you can still sign up! Each session will be recorded and shared with registered attendees.

Our first session will focus first on how to take good care of a healthy, strong sourdough starter that generates great flavor and reliable leavening. We’ll use your starter to make two essential French breads: a baguette and a bâtard. Both of them employ specific methods to shape, score and bake successfully, which Peter will show you in slow motion and at full speed. You’ll learn ingenious ways to generate steam in your oven—essential to good rise and the development of a proper crust—without spending a fortune. And we’ll make super-quick batches of discard waffles using your starter, proving that it can do much more than make loaves of bread.

We start our second session by answering questions that have arisen during your baking of the previous week. Then, Peter will introduce you to his favorite homemade version of one notoriously uninspiring grocery-store bread: marbled rye. When you taste a great marbled rye, you’ll be ruined for the storebought stuff forever. We’ll also make a batch of sourdough bagels, including their unique shaping, boiling and topping techniques. Your challenge between session two and session three will be to continue the striking visual theme and try your hand at Peter’s swirled loaves, which combine Peter’s go-to dough recipe with either cheddar cheese or plenty of butter and cinnamon.

In our final session, we get into truly advanced concepts for the confident home bakers you will have become. Peter will explain why his favorite Irish stout bread doesn’t actually use stout beer; instead, roasted barley powder and cooked barley give this “porridge loaf” extraordinary flavor and texture. We’ll also make a classic pane siciliano, which gets its unique texture from a generous amount of semolina. Both of these doughs are exceptionally high-hydration, which can make them frustrating to work with—but not when you have this much sourdough baking practice under your belt. Peter will wrap up this session by gifting you his final favorite recipe to use up starter: a batch of easy and highly adaptable crackers (everything seasoning encouraged, but not required).

Join us and Peter to transform the way you think about sourdough baking at home.

About Peter: Peter Reinhart is the author of 13 books, including the James Beard and IACP Book of the year, "The Bread Baker’s Apprentice." His books on bread and pizza have won two other James Beard Awards ("Crust & Crumb" and "Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads"). Peter has been a baking instructor at Johnson & Wales University for the past 23 years, as well as a popular traveling teacher at cooking schools across the country, and a product developer for a number of large companies and restaurants. He is also the host of the video podcast Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart, which also runs as an audio podcast on the HRN network. His latest book is based on interviews he conducted with dozens of pizza luminaries during the pandemic, exploring how they pivoted their restaurants to survive and thrive. The guests shared some of their signature pizzas with Peter, who then created what he calls "tribute versions" of 35 different pizzas that can be made by home cooks. Peter lives with his wife, Susan, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This intensive is generously sponsored by:
Cairnspring Mills is a regional flour mill located in the Skagit Valley of northwest Washington state, producing fresh, stone-milled flours made from identity-preserved, regeneratively grown grains. Cairnspring buys directly from farmers committed to soil health and stores their unique varietals in small-scall grain silos. Through their stone-milling process, the bran and germ are intentionally incorporated creating flavorful, aromatic flours that retain the natural nutrition. Their flours are not artificially enriched or treated. Join their mission to support regenerative food systems when you purchase their flour. Use code CAIRNSPRING20 for 20% off all flours. Note that the code is single-use and not valid on merchandise (only flour!) or shipping. Expires on 3/1/25.
Corto. Named the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the US by the Extra Virgin Olive Oil World Ranking, Corto’s 100% California-grown olive oil is the secret ingredient of top chefs across the nation—including Peter. While 70% of olive oil is rancid or harvested from overripe fruit that has fallen to the ground, Corto gently picks olives off the branches at peak freshness. The fruit is then cold-extracted in Corto’s state-of-the-art mill and stored in a climate-controlled cellar until a customer order is processed. Only then is the oil packaged directly from the cellar into Corto’s FlavorLock boxes and dark-glass bottles, further ensuring freshness and minimizing exposure to the harmful effects of light, heat, and air. Order their olive oil here and get a transformative tasting kit from them here.

Our multi-session Intensives are capped at just 25 attendees and are distinct from our livestream Classes. As such, they are NOT included with Insider membership.

Want to give this class as a gift? You can purchase gift cards here.

Thank you to the 2025 Annual Sponsors of the Cooking School, who make our livestream events possible:

Coccinella. Their Oleavia Extra-Virgin Olive Oils are made with olives that are harvested early, hand-picked and cold-pressed to ensure impeccable flavor. Use code MILK STREET (don't overlook the space!) to get 20% off your first order: https://www.coccinellastore.com/oleavia-evoo

Work Sharp, which makes sharpening products that are fast, easy to use and work every time. Find their products on the Milk Street Store and use code SHARPSMART for 10% off: t.ly/gZgyU

Wulf’s Fish and Savenor’s Market. Together, Wulf’s Fish and Savenor’s Market provide premium seafood and gourmet meat to chefs and home cooks across the country. Use code MILKSTREET for 20% off orders from Wulf’s (t.ly/REVSO) and Savenor’s (t.ly/CRwjA).

Immediately after registering, you will get a confirmation email that contains the Zoom meeting log-in information. One week prior to the class (or within 48 hours, if you register less than one week in advance), you will receive instructions on how to prepare ingredients and equipment in order to cook along with us.

After class, you will receive a recording of the event, as well as a packet with recipes and resources that we discuss during the event. If you have any questions about this class, please don't hesitate to get in touch via cookingschool@177milkstreet.com.

This event has limited spots, and you must register in advance via Eventbrite. One sign-up covers one device. Closed Captioning is available for this event.

Payments for Milk Street livestream workshops are non-refundable. If you find yourself unable to attend, you may transfer the ticket to someone else, but we are unable to refund fees and all payments are final.

Proceeds from live stream cooking classes and workshops support Milk Street's non-profit work with The Big Sisters Association of Great Boston, The Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester, and other partners.

Bonus: All attendees of this class will receive a one-time 20% off coupon to the Milk Street Store after class.

Intensive: The Art & Science of Sourdough with Peter Reinhart

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