Sourdough with Inclusions with Laila O’Boyle

You already know how to make a great sourdough loaf. Now let’s make it extraordinary.

Inclusions are one of the most rewarding ways to expand your sourdough repertoire and one of the most misunderstood. When do you add them? How do you keep chunky mix-ins from tearing your dough? How does moisture from olives or soaked seeds change your bake? This class answers all of that, and you’ll mix your own dough and choose your own inclusion to take home and bake.

What You’ll Do in Class

Everyone will mix a sourdough base dough by hand, then choose one of four inclusions to incorporate:

• Cheddar + Jalapeño — sharp, cubed cheddar and chopped fresh or jarred jalapeños
• Super Seeded — a toasted and soaked seed blend folded into the dough
• Olive + Rosemary — briny chopped olives with fragrant fresh or dried rosemary
• Walnut + Cranberry — roasted walnuts and rehydrated dried cranberries

While your dough ferments, you’ll watch a live demonstration of scoring and baking all four flavors. We’ll pull the loaves from the oven together, taste and compare, and talk through what you’re seeing in each crumb and crust.

At the end of class, you’ll shape your dough and take it home to cold proof overnight and bake the next day.

What You’ll Learn

• How and when to incorporate inclusions without damaging dough structure
• How different mix-ins (wet, dry, chunky, oily) affect fermentation and handling
• The coil fold technique and how to use it during bulk fermentation
• How to read your dough and know when it’s ready to shape
• Scoring approaches and how to bake in a Dutch oven at home

What You’ll Take Home

• Your shaped dough, ready to cold proof and bake the next morning.
• Printed formulas for all four inclusion variations.
• Tastes of each flavor baked during class.

Categories: Baking Class, Bread, Demonstration