Skip to navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer


The Bread Day

from £245.00

Learn the basics of fantastic bread with a day of mixing, kneading, baking and eating!

Bread is one of our original and most popular courses here at River Cottage HQ and in this revamped version, our chefs take you through every stage of the baking process. You will learn to make many different types of bread and leave with the knowledge and confidence gained from this intensive day ready to tackle the joys of baking bread at home.

At River Cottage we bake all our bread including our classic farmhouse loaf, so we begin the day showing you how to make this. You will also explore international breads like focaccia, make a wood-fired pizza for lunch and sweet dough for doughnuts and brioche for a tea time treat.

Our guests frequently say after this course they never look back and it's homemade bread from then on.

Highlights:

- Create a classic farmhouse loaf

- Flavoursome focaccia

- Cinnamon doughnuts made from the tried and tested River Cottage recipe

- Make your own pizza dough for a wood-fired pizza for lunch

- Indulgent brioche

- Welcome tea, coffees and nibbles on arrival

If you're looking to join us near the festive season, check out our Christmas Bread Day course.

  • The Bread Day

    I thoroughly enjoyed the bread day. We made a huge range of products and picked up so many tips and all in the idyllic River Cottage location.

    Angela Attended 9 August 2022

    5.0 out of 5
  • The Bread Day

    The Bead Day is fantastic, I can't believe how many different loaves we made in a single day! I particularly enjoyed the focaccia dough, very messy but the results were great! I feel much more confident about tackling more complicated breads at home now! Just don't eat anything...

    Marlon Attended 4 September 2021

    4.9 out of 5

Your day

10:00 - 17:00

  • Make yourself at home

    You will meet your host, and begin the day with tea, coffee and treats fresh from the kitchen.

  • Session One

    Create the dough for a classic farmhouse loaf.

  • Session Two

    Pizza dough which will be cooked in our wood fired oven for your lunch later in the day.

  • Session Three

    Bread number three - focaccia.

  • Lunch

    Finish your pizzas with seasonal toppings before they're cooked in the wood-fired oven. You'll enjoy these with some salads provided by the River Cottage Chefs.

  • Session Four

    Cinnamon doughnuts to be enjoyed for your after lunch snack

  • Session Five

    To finish, you'll create a mouth-watering brioche loaf.

  • Departure

    There will be time to chat to your fellow scholars and the River Cottage team, before heading back up the hill for 5pm with your baked goods in hand!

Please note: This is a guide to the activities that will make up your course at River Cottage. This is by no means set in stone and will depend on seasonal availability.

On occasion cookery schools will use equipment that includes induction hobs. It is recommended that people with pace makers should not work on these units. If you are concerned or would like to check whether or not induction hobs will be used on the course you are interested in, please call us on 01297 630302.

Book this course...

1. Choose your day...

Can’t find the right date?

Click here​ to receive an alert when new dates are released for this event.

2. How many people attending?

3. Check your order

Please select an event date and enter the number of attendees above.

Total - £0.00

All prices include VAT.

Further information...

This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked.

We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines available to purchase.

Stay in our famous Farmhouse, click here. For other local accommodation click here.

We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12 years of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests.

Sorry, we’re afraid this course is not suitable for those who are gluten free, with coeliac disease or wheat intolerances. However we do run courses that are gluten free friendly. Please get in touch if you have any questions or need further details.

With many of our courses there are often treats and leftovers to take away with you. In our quest to be more sustainable we are encouraging guests to bring their own containers and bags to transport their produce home. Details of what is required for each course will be included in booking emails.

  • Sustainable Restaurant Association
  • Food and Travel Magazine 2017
  • Great British Food Awards 2017
  • Great British Food Awards 2018