Solveig Tofte To Teach Sold­-Out Bread Bakers Guild Class 'Starting A Micro­Bakery' In New Orleans

Sonoma, CA – Many serious home bakers are ready to make the leap from baking for fun to baking for profit but aren’t ready yet to open a full­scale production facility. International competitor and bakery owner, Solveig Tofte, will teach a sold­out class next month for the Bread Bakers Guild of America that will serve as a “how to” for those bakers.

“Starting a Micro­Bakery” will be held at Gracious Bakery in New Orleans, LA, on March 8­9. The first day of class will cover the practical aspects of selling at farmers markets and artisan bread fairs: rules and regulations, equipment, renting space in a commercial kitchen or setting up a backyard bakeshop. The second day will be devoted to hands­on production, covering the challenges of baking on a larger scale: general organization, production timelines, and timesaving tricks. Students will learn to bake breads and versatile pastries like Kingfield Sourdough, Berry Cream Scones, Bergen Bread, Fruit Turnovers, and Focaccia Pockets, to add to their market repertoires.

Solveig Tofte is the owner of Sun Street Breads, an award­winning bakery­café in Minneapolis, MN. Before opening her own business in 2011, she was Head Baker at Turtle Bread Company in Minneapolis for 10 years. She was captain of the Bread Bakers Guild Team USA that competed at the 2008 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) in Paris, and she currently serves on The Guild’s Board of Directors. She has taught baking classes at regional and national Guild events.

Gracious Bakery + Café, in Mid­City New Orleans, is owned by pastry chef Megan Roen Forman. It was named 2013 Bakery of the Year by New Orleans Magazine.

“Starting a Micro­Bakery” is part of the 2014 class series, The DNA of Baking, which will focus on the science underlying baking: the fundamentals of fermentation, ingredients, temperature, and formula development. These classes are part of The Guild’s mission to “shape the skills and knowledge of the artisan baking community.” Please visit www.bbga.org to see the complete 2014 calendar.

The Bread Bakers Guild of America is a non­profit organization comprised of professional bakers, farmers, millers, suppliers, educators, students, home bakers, technical experts, and bakery owners and managers who work together to support the principle and the practice of producing the highest quality baked goods. It was formed in 1993 to shape the skills and knowledge of the artisan baking community through education.

Source: The Bread Bakers Guild of America