Sourdough Bread Classes In The South West
Since 2018, The Gift of Bread has been led by its creator, Michael Storey. Through his incredible knowledge, warmth, and enthusiasm, Michael has taught thousands of people how to bake sourdough bread packed with nutritional value and health benefits—making real bread accessible even to those with dietary sensitivities.
As Michael steps into a well-deserved retirement to build his canoe, paddle down the river, and tend to his new flock of hens alongside his wife Nelleke, we wish them both a vibrant, happy next chapter.
I couldn’t let this wonderful gift come to an end. In Michael’s words, he has “passed the torch”—I am honoured to carry his work forward by teaching his principles, sharing his deep baking wisdom, and keeping our classes as affordable as possible. (And you never know, Michael might just pop into a class one day!)
We shall be holding classes in the south west area, Based in Devon or even in your own home or community
The bread we teach you to make is not like supermarket sourdough.
Most bread sold today — including most bread labelled sourdough — is made quickly, with additives, and without proper fermentation. It bears little resemblance to what bread was for most of human history.
The bread we teach is wholegrain, stoneground, and long-fermented. That process transforms the grain entirely, breaking down the components that cause so many people digestive problems, releasing nutrition that fast bread simply cannot offer, and producing a loaf with a depth of flavour and a staying power that has to be tasted to be believed.
Many people who cannot tolerate ordinary bread — including those with gluten sensitivity and even fellow coeliacs — find they can eat this bread without difficulty.
This started as a personal search — and became a passion.
Michael is a coeliac. For years he lived with the consequences of bread that modern industrial processes have made genuinely harmful for millions of people. When I discovered what bread used to be — slow-fermented, stoneground, wholegrain, made the way it had been made for centuries — everything changed.
Not only could he eat it. He thrived on it.
That discovery became an obsession, and eventually a calling. For the past several years, he has been teaching people from a dedicated premises in Somerset how to make this bread themselves — properly, from scratch, with their own hands. Every week I see people leave with four loaves, a healthy starter, and a completely changed understanding of what bread can be.
This is not a trend. It is a return to something we lost.
A full day. Four loaves. Everything you need.
Our hands-on classes are run every week in various venues, our base being in Sidmouth, East Devon, or in your own home or venue. Class sizes are deliberately kept small so that every person gets proper attention and leaves confident.
You will mix, shape, and bake real sourdough loaves on the day. You will leave with one baked loaf and three more to bake at home. A live starter to take home, and printed instruction sheets so you can remember how to reproduce everything in your own kitchen.
The method we teach requires less than six minutes of hands-on time to produce three loaves. There is no kneading. The sourdough microbiota does the work.
You do not need any experience.
The class is suitable for complete beginners and for people who have been baking for years and want to understand a fundamentally different approach. If you have struggled with shop-bought bread, if you or someone in your family has digestive problems, or if you simply want to know how to make something real and nourishing from scratch — this class is for you.
Ready to bake something real?
Classes are confirmed by email or by phone. We keep things simple and personal — no automated booking systems, just a straightforward conversation about dates that suit you.