Zingerman's Baking and Cooking Classes in Ann Arbor

Join us for one of our best hands-on classes for new bakers, where you'll learn how to make traditional French baguettes the Zingerman's Bakehouse way. Most commercial bread in stores labeled “baguette”, are soft and bland, bearing no resemblance to the traditional French bread that Parisian bakers first developed around 1920. When a law went into effect forbidding them from starting to work before 4 am, they began baking the long thin loaves that are synonymous with French baking today.

In this class, we'll teach you to make our traditional French baguette recipe—starting with a flavorful poolish (bakers call it a pre-ferment, it’s like a starter) and mixing up our bread dough. We'll then go over the techniques of hand rolling and shaping the dough into baguettes, which we'll proof and then bake to a crispy golden brown. Imagine serving breakfast to out-of-town guests and bringing out a perfect baguette that they swear must have been airlifted from Paris.

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our French baguette recipe, the knowledge to recreate it at home, and the baked French baguettes you made in class as well as the dough you will make.

In-Person Class: We'll end class with a tasting and you'll also leave with some great coupons.

Virtual Class: We will send out a video two days before class showing how to make a poolish the day before class.

What our guests have to say about this class:

I came in never having tried making bread and I feel I'm leaving with the knowledge to try and create some on my own. —Nate R.

Everyone should know how to make baguettes like this. I've been trying to make good baguettes for awhile. This has opened my mind. —John D.

Taking your baking classes has given me the confidence to bake more frequently, trying new recipes to prepare for friends and family. —Lisa S.

We have so much to teach you about how to bake a great cake! In this hands-on class, you'll learn to make 3 cakes (2 for virtual sessions), each requiring a different mixing technique. We'll start with a fluffy white Angel Food Cake and then on to a dark, intense Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake; and for the in-person class, we'll add a third cake to the mix—a tasty Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

We'll also talk about choosing great ingredients and helpful tips for baking, plus you'll get hands-on practice mixing your cake batters. These cakes will outshine the box mix versions any day. Add them to your baking bag of tricks!

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our recipes, the knowledge to recreate them at home, and the cakes you made in class.

In-Person: We'll end the class with a tasting of what we made and you'll go home with some great coupons.

Virtual: You'll need a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to make the angel food cake and the flourless chocolate cake.

What our guests have to say about this class:

I learned several new tips to advance my home baking ventures. —Wendy M.

I am super excited to expand my home baking from my normal comfort items and to be able to make from scratch the items I purchase regularly. —Kim G.

While working with Eli and Tino of Dresdner Backhaus, a famous bakery in Dresden, Germany, we exchanged recipes and experience freely. Join us for this hands-on class as we make three of the breads our German friends taught us: the Bakehouse's Dinkelbrot, a spelt, rye, and sunflower seed loaf; Wurzelbrot, a rye and wheat baguette; and Vinschgauer, a savory, seasoned mountain roll that's delicious with ham and cheese. You'll get plenty of hands-on practice mixing, shaping, and proofing a variety of yeasted bread doughs, and then bake them to perfection.

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our recipes, the knowledge to recreate them at home, and all the German breads you made in class.

In-Person: We'll end class with a tasting and you'll also leave with some great coupons.

Virtual (2 Day): On Day One, we'll meet to mix our rye sour, make our soakers, and mix our poolish. On Day Two, we'll be mixing our doughs, and then shaping, proofing, and baking our 3 German Breads. To make the Wurzelbrot, you'll need a stand mixer with a hook attachment. 

What our guests have to say about this class:

Very thorough presentation. One of the best BAKE! classes I've taken. Taking home rye starter is a big plus! —Helen P.

Every baker should know how to make a pie crust. You never stood on a chair to help Grandma bake a pie? You don’t get many second chances in life, but here’s your opportunity to learn how she did it.

In this hands-on class, we’ll deliver the techniques of how to make a pie crust the Zingerman's Bakehouse way—creating a flaky crust with butter, and another crust using lard and butter (no shortening allowed!). We'll teach you how to make the dough by hand and successfully roll it out, show you what "par-baking" and "blind-baking" a crust means, and also how to crimp the edges to make your pies look beautiful. Pie flavors for this class vary by season (April-Sept: Blueberry and Lemon Chess; Oct-Mar: Apple and Pecan). Roll up your sleeves and join in the fun so you can tell all your friends you learned how to make a pie crust.

For some history on the American pie classics, apple and pecan, head to our blog and read: "Baking Apple Pies A Plenty for the Holidays" and "The All-American Pecan Pie."

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our recipes, the knowledge to recreate them and make pie crust at home, and the two pies you made in class.

In-person: We'll end the in-person class with a pie tasting and you'll go home with some great coupons.

What our guests have to say about this class:

I thought I knew plenty about pie crust and was hoping for more confidence and consistency. I learned more than I could've ever imagined. Encouraging, no-judgment environment, knowledgable teachers, great value. —Josh B.

I am so much more confident and I can't wait to try these crusts at home. First time in 100 years that I made a crust that fit the pan, was delicious, and didn't come from a box. —Lee Anne S.

Have long feared the pie, even though I made okay ones. Techniques=confidence=more pies. My friends will thank you. —Susan L.

It's no secret we love rye around here! In this hands-on class, we'll teach you to make three varieties of rye bread that Zingerman’s Bakehouse is famous for: our Onion Rye and Pumpernickel, as well as Vorterkaker, a Norwegian 100% rye. Each bread has its own unique personality that you’re sure to love. Our Onion Rye is brimming with flavor thanks to fresh, caramelized onions and lots of poppy seeds baked inside and on top. Our old-world-style Pumpernickel bread is dark, moist, and also full of flavor. Both these ryes are made with the same detailed process and organic rye sour as its cousin, our famous Jewish Rye bread. And Vorterkaker? You’ve never baked a bread like this before. It’s a traditional rye baked into a flat disc and flavored with fennel and anise seeds.

All of the rockin’ rye varieties we’ll make in class are moist and full of flavor, thanks in no small part to our organic rye sour starter. We also use what we call “old” in our recipe. It’s simply rye bread from a previous day mixed with water to make a mush. It adds to the texture of the bread and spiritually connects today to yesterday, recognizing the circularity of our lives. We use more rye flour and less yeast than other bakeries, bake our loaves on a stone hearth, and mist the crust with water right out of the oven. That quick steam makes the thin crust shiny and crispy. 

No matter which rye bread you like best, your sandwiches will be sending you thank-you notes!

You'll leave the BAKE! class with our recipes, the knowledge to recreate them at home, and all the rye breads you made in class.

In-Person: We'll end class with a rye bread tasting and you'll also go home with some great coupons.

Virtual (2-day): On Day 1, we'll meet for an hour to mix our rye sour, before fermenting it overnight, and answer any questions you may have. On Day 2 we'll mix our doughs and then shape, proof, and bake all 3 rye breads.