topping

topping again because it sounds soooo wonderful..

Why don't you email this company:

http://www.artandcookingclassesinfrance.com/Art%20and%20Cooking%20Classes%20in%20France_Page542.htm

and tell them what you are looking for. They may give customized classes or can point you in another direction.

Hi Pam only to tell him that I understand him very well

for the first time in my life some years ago I started

baking a few breads here and there and it was a very

relaxing and fascinating experience.

Hi P,

Instead of attending a 1-day class (which won't do him much good), get Bernard Clayton's "New Complete Book of Breads".

It has directions for building using your own outdoor, adobe baker's oven.

That's the secret to artisanal bread.

Now to be able to afford an outdoor bread oven....

If you are ever up in my neck of the woods (alas - not nearly as pretty as Provence!) I teach artisan bread baking classes. Not as atmospheric here but still lots of fun!

If I find info on classes in Provence I will post it. That would be delightful!

Hi travel2live2, where's your neck in the woods? Thanks!

Alberta.

Well, it's not Provence, but maybe one of these locations would fit the bill?

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/national_demonstration.html

Thank-you all. I have come to the conclusion that you can go and spend a week at a cooking school or just enjoy the breads at the local bakery. He is a card carring member of King Arthur flour club and has memorized the Bakers Apprentice. So maybe we can befriend a "baker" while we are there and learn somemore.

Here is some information - hopefully it will be helpful. These locations are in Provence (info taken from francetourism.com) :

"Provence - Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence Areas, Southeastern France

Hostellerie Bérard
83740 La Cadière d’Azur - Tel: 04-94-50-55-50 Fax: 04-94-50-55-51

The three-star Hostellerie Bérard is an ensemble of buildings from an 11th-centry convent.

Hotel de la Mirande
Atelier de Cuisine 4, place de la Mirande 84000 Avignon
Tel: 04-90-85-93-93 Fax: 04-90-86-26-85

Well-respected chefs from the region teach hands-on cooking classes in the fully restored 19th-century kitchen complete with wood-burning cast-iron oven.

Jardin de la Tour Restaurant
9, rue de la Tour 84000 Avignon
Tel: 04-90-85-66-50 Fax: 04-90-82-94-49

Information: Jean-Marc Larrue

Olga Manguin
L'Anastasie - Ile de la Barthelasse 84000 Avignon
Tel: 04-90-85-55-94 Fax: 04-90-82-94-49

Olga Manguin ran a restaurant in Avignon for 20 years. Today she gives cooking lessons at her bed and breakfast in a restored farmhouse with four rooms, garden, and swimming pool."

This sounds more rustic and artisinal -

http://www.numericworld.ch/heartofprovence/workshop_cooking.htm

http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking-holidays/france.htm

I'm doing a french search on Google.

Did find that there is a Musee de la Boulangerie in Bonnieux.

Probably no good (Paris) but...

www.frenchculinary.com/courses_cc_pb.htm


Or..

www.bastide-adrech.com/act2.htm

The Musee de la Boulangerie in Bonnieux (in the Luberon) is very interesting and in a beautiful building. There is a supplemental handout for non-French speakers. If your husband is interested in the history of bread-baking, this might be a place to visit. Just across the street is famous boulangerie of Henri Tomas.

Pammyjo, did you post the same question on Slow Travel also? There were some responses for you there too.

Kathy

Does your husband bake bread now? What does he know about flour and yeast? Does he have 'starter' experience? Will he clean up the kitchen?

This bastide in the Parc du Luberon occasionally offers a bread baking class:

http://www.bastide-adrech.com/act1.htm

GSteed
Oh,yes he is a baking maniac. He baked a loaf of bread for Christmas and my daughter-in-law had to run home and use her own oven for the gruyere scalloped potatos. He was not messing with his timing and oven temperture. Mind you my daughter-in-law is a certified chef and it made great conversation at the dinner table. Yes, he cleans up after himself. We are planning a kitchen remodel and his bread baking is playing a big part in our decisions. I just don't want it to impact my traveling budget.

Gerard Auzet, who with Peter Mayle wrote "Confessions of a French Baker" has Auzet Boulangerie in Cavillion in Provence. He is an award winning baker and does give some lessons sometimes...even one day. We hope to take a day with him this summer.

OLD OLD thread, but face it, the French and probably Italians leave the bread baking to the experts, and concentrate on their own cuisine.
Take a class from Peter Reinhart. He travels all over the country. It is an experience that no one forgets--an incredible man. Get his book The Bread Baker's Apprentice and his subsequent Whole Grain Breads.

@ sandy_travelnut
The correct web adress of Art and Cooking Classes in France is: http://www.artandcookingclassesinfrance.com/
or: http://artandcookingclassesinprovence.weebly.com/