I first fell in love with bread when I started working at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago in the early 90’s. We made this very strange focaccia on a full sheet pan with cake, rye and ap flour. I never saw a bread like that before or since. But I knew I could make it better.

chefinstructortom.com is all about making your bread better. If you are interested in learning the professional techniques of making bread in your home or even if you bake professionally, you are in the right place. I have found that everyone can benefit from discussion about baking. I think that through practice and repetition, you can find the techniques to make your best bread. The reason I say it that way is that my best bread might be different than yours. I want to help you get where you want to be.

I have put up some formulas for you to use. Those can be found anywhere on the web. But I think reading through the entire post can unearth some interesting details you may not think about when you bake bread. We have some informal get togethers to talk about bread. But we will also have online classes on Zoom geared towards the home baker who wants to bake in a professional manner. We will have two tracks to begin. One is lean breads, including French, focaccia, pita, bagels and bialys. You may have tried making these breads before. I can help you enliven your bread to bakery quality standards. The other track is rich breads including brioche, cinnamon rolls and croissants. While using butter, sugar and egg (something you don’t find in lean doughs) can be a little tricky, it’s not that much harder than making lean breads.

Stay with me and I’ll show you a world of bread you have never seen before in your own home. Follow me at @chefinstructortom on Instagram. You’ll see what I can do.