Ramekins
450 West Spain Street
Sonoma, California 95476
Telephone: 707-933-0450
Ramekin Bread Basics:
The World of Flat-breads (Hands-on) with Kurtis Baguley
Saturday, July 17, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. $65
Kurtis Baguley was classically trained at the California Culinary Academy
and the Konditorei Tivoli in Copenhagen. With his diverse repertoire, he
has directed some of San Francisco?s top hotel pastry kitchens including
Scala?s Bistro at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and most recently Silks at
the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where Kurtis? desserts were the highlight of a
San Francisco Chronicle review. Kurtis has received several national awards
including one from the James Beard Foundation. He is currently a baking
instructor at the California Culinary Academy.
With the ever-growing popularity of world cuisine, it's easy to notice a
trend in flat breads being served with so many ethnic meals. Some of these
breads are useful as "tools" at the table; many are delicious eaten alone;
all are very easy to make, once you let Kurtis show you the way.
Fougasse - The Provençal classic, formed into ladder or tree shapes
and sometimes studded with olives or cheese;
Pita - A very simple dough that puffs up like a balloon
in the oven and is perfect for stuffing
with your favorite sandwich fillings;
Flour Tortilla - Hand-made Mexican tortillas are fun,
easy and nothing like store-bought;
Indian Nan with toasted Cumin and Onions -
an Indian meal is just not the same without this
surprisingly easy, buttery flat bead. Weather permitting,
we'll bake ours on the barbecue outside to get into the summer party
spirit!
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Brioche Workshop
(Hands-on) with Fran Gage
Saturday, July 31, 10:00 a.m. $65
Fran Gage owned Pâtisserie Française in San Francisco for ten years. The
bakery consistently won critical acclaim locally and nationally for it
pastry, bread, and chocolates. Fran taught popular bread and pastry classes
at the bakery and at Tante Marie's Cooking School. She closed the bakery
following a fire in 1995 and now is teaching, consulting and writing, with
articles published in Saveur, Fine Cooking, Kitchen Garden, and The San
Francisco Chronicle. Her current project is a book called Bread and
Chocolate, a collection of food essays accompanied by recipes to be
published by Sasquatch Books in the spring of 1999.
Even though brioche is one of the classics of French baking, it isn't
difficult to make. This yeast-risen dough, enriched with eggs and butter,
has a surprisingly light texture. Individual brioches with topknots, served
warm with a dollop of good preserves, make a perfect breakfast. But the
dough is very versatile and can be combined with other ingredients to make
luscious treats. In this class, you will learn how to make the dough and
several variations.
Classic Brioche Dough;
Individual brioche baked in fluted pans;
Kugelhopf - a light cake from Alsace made with raisins, candied
fruits and nuts;
Almond Toasts - a favorite from Pâtisserie Française;
Brioche with Goat Cheese Custard and Fruit;
Chocolate Brioche