How to Make Sourdough Bread: The Ultimate Guide to Slow Baking with Franco Manca Co-Founder Bridget Hugo

We’re thrilled to release this fantastic bread making course with one of the masters of the art of sourdough baking.

Bridget Hugo is co-founder of Franco Manca, the pizza chain, and Bread Bread artisanal bakery in Brixton. 

She is also a member of the Real Bread campaign and believes, like us, that most of the stuff on offer in supermarkets is mere ersatz bread, a copy.

In a series of 21 videos filmed in her Brixton kitchen, Bridget takes you through the steps needed to make your own delicious and healthy sourdough loaf using just flour, water and salt.

You’ll also learn how to make focaccia, pizzas and bread buns.

Says Bridget: “I am passionate about wild bread and wild things.”

Course Outline

Introduction – 2.53 mins

Part 1: The Equipment Required – 3.26 mins

Part 2: The Science of Sourdough – 5.27 mins

Part 3: How to Make Your Sourdough Starter – 3.26 mins

Part 4: What Should Your Starter Look Like? – 3.38 mins

Part 5: How to Refresh Your Starter Ready for Baking – 4.38 mins

Part 6: How to Refresh Your Starter Ready for Storage – 5.13 mins

Part 7: Understanding Baker’s Percentages – 3.21 mins

Part 8: How to Make Your Dough – 11.58 mins

Part 9: On Kneading – 6.44 mins

Part 10: Developing Your Dough – 5.15 mins

Part 11: How to Shape and Prove Your Dough – 7.36 mins

Part 12: How to Bake the Loaf – 12.09 mins

Part 13: How to Slice Your Bread – 3.48 mins

Part 14: Introducing “Poolish” – 4.07 mins

Part 15: Making a Versatile Focaccia Dough – 13.35 mins

Part 16: Dividing Dough to Make Pizza – 2.33 mins

Part 17: How to Shape Dinner Rolls – 4.00 mins

Part 18: Shaping the Pizza Dough –4.05 mins

Part 19: On Tomatoes and Cheese – 11.42 mins

Part 20: Applying Toppings and Baking – 5.26 mins

Part 21: Doughnuts and Pizza Fritta – 13.32 mins

Course Conclusion – 1.09 mins

About the tutor

Bridget Hugo is the Co-Founder of Franco Manca pizza restaurants, which now has 40 branches, a partner in 3 other food outlet brands and makes artisan breads at BreadBread Bakery. She is one of the sole producers of brick oven baked bread, which she supplies to London’s leading chefs and gourmet retailers. Bridget is an international consultant and author on sourdough products and won a Young British Foodie Award soon after she started baking, for her sourdough donuts. She has been awarded Great Taste stars for her traditional Italian and English-style products and for her German rye recipes.