Open Bakery Croissant Class

Making croissants is one of the most satisfying processes in patisserie! The idea is simple - layers of dough and butter - but making these many many many layers of dough and butter by hand - perfectly even and paper thin - is a real skill and best taught first-hand by someone with experience. In this class you will:- - mix and knead the croissant dough, learn how to balance the strength and elasticity of your dough - learn about the materials and the magical properties that allows flour and butter to metamorphose so wonderfully - practice laminating the dough - the process of layering dough and butter evenly together - form the dough into viennoiserie: croissant and pain au chocolat - see and understand the critical processes of resting, proving and baking the croissant YOU WILL MAKE, BAKE AND TAKE HOME: baked croissant; baked pain au chocolate; raw croissant and pain au chocolate to freeze or bake at home; an enriched dough to take home to bake in a way you choose. LUNCH INCLUDED: also coffee and cakes in the afternoon break FULL DAY CLASS: 10:45 a.m to 4 p.m. (may end a little later) YOUR TEACHER:  Gniewomir "G" Wojtala started work in Real Patisserie savoury after training as a sushi chef in Poland. He then moved to Open Bakery where he retrained in pastry and became head of the section  in 2019. See other classes

Class general information

Open Bakery Sourdough Bread Class

Baking great bread at home is such a useful and rewarding skill to learn. And baking with sourdough cultures even more so -  as the results can give you deliciously full-flavoured bread. This baking class aims to dispel the myth that baking is a hard process - demanding crack-of-dawn starts and hours of kneading, and even then fraught with the possibility of failure! We will show you that sourdough baking can be an incredibly rewarding and therapeutic process and, what's more, you can quite easily fit it into your daily routine. In this class you will:- - learn the correct way to knead and develop rye and wheat sourdoughs - develop beautiful doughs with simple methods - use technique, heat, moisture and, most importantly, time to artfully affect your bread - learn how to get artisan results in both traditional stone decked ovens and domestic ovens YOU WILL MAKE, BAKE AND TAKE HOME: rye sourdough hand-moulded loaf; rye sourdough tin loaf; 2x artisan demi-baguettes; focaccia loaf; sourdough hand-moulded loaf LUNCH INCLUDED: there is also a break for coffee and baked chocolate fondants straight from the oven for a boost in the afternoon! FULL DAY CLASS: 10:45 a.m to 4 p.m. (may end a little later) YOUR TEACHER: Justin Gourlay set up the Open Bakery in Brighton in 2010. He has been teaching classes since 2014.

Open Bakery Macaron Class

Learn to make these delicious, delicate and iconic cakes! Use your skills to create special gift boxes or impress friends with wonderful colourful party spreads!   In this class you will: - - learn the process of making the macaron ‘batter’ and Italian meringue to produce the perfect macaron shell - be taught the art of hand piping macaron shells - and practice your technique by making 40 macaron shells and fillings - mix and create different macaron fillings using French butter cream and chocolate ganache - see, understand, and learn the necessary delicate skills and processes that make the perfect macaron   YOU WILL MAKE, BAKE AND TAKE HOME: A total of 40 macarons of different flavours that you have created – fantastic for gifts or for home freezing for later! TEA AND COFFEE BREAK HALF DAY CLASS: 9:45am – 1:30pm YOUR TEACHER: Bianka has been making cakes and sweets professionally for [how many years?] -  She has worked as a pâtissier at Open Bakery for 3 years. Last year she made and sold over 16,000 macarons! See other classes

Jürgen’s German Rye-Sourdough Class

We are delighted to be able to offer a class taught by this year’s The Great British Bake Off’s semi-finalist: Jürgen Krauss.   Jürgen loves making bread more than any other type of baking - particularly sourdough bread - and in this 4-hour class Jürgen will impart his knowledge of a traditional German sourdough method of making bread: the Detmold Einstufenführung method.   This method is one of Jürgen’s favourites and allows you to work and experiment with the science of sourdough baking within a precise methodology.   You will learn to refresh and prepare the starter for the recipe, a 17hr pre-ferment. Jürgen will demonstrate the different ways you can affect your bread using the ingredients. You will also be able to build a preparation to take home for another baking session the following day!   Learn to alter the balance of dough hydration and ingredient ratios - as defined by the DEF method - using a combination of light-rye, wholemeal and wheat flours, and a ripe rye sourdough starter. The recipes enhanced with caraway, linseeds and sunflower seeds     YOU WILL MAKE AND TAKE HOME: 2 loaves made from 2 different sourdough preparations. A sourdough preparation for another bake.   4 HOUR CLASS – Allow an extra 30 minutes runover time. 1pm - 5pm   COFFEE AND PATISSERIE BREAK! A little time to relax and chat over coffee and fondants!   YOUR TEACHER: Needs little introduction, but a passionate baker from a very early age and a much-loved competitor of The Great British Bake Off 2022.

Kids Pizza and Focaccia Class

OPEN BAKERY KIDS' PIZZA AND FOCACCIA CLASS Group booking and price on request.    This class is designed for children aged 8 and up.  Get messy, hands on and stuck in on our Pizza and focaccia class.   Perfect for a party!   In this class you will:- -learn the process of making a super pizza dough base - be taught the art of making a light fluffy Italian focaccia bread, the perfect accompaniment to any meal -finish your pizza and focaccia with toppings of your choice -Bake off your bread and pizza to enjoy at home! CLASS LENGTH: 2.5 hour afternoon lesson Please email kemptown@openbakery.co.uk for all enquiries

Savoury Pastry and Quiche Class

A class to teach you the secrets of delicious pastry. You will learn how to make short crust pastry the French way, and also discover a delicious and simple alternative to puff pastry. Together we create our famous beetroot quiche for you to take home, share, and show off!  We also make mini quiches, perfect for parties. The class takes place around the long wooden table at our shop in Kemp town. It's a really fun and informative class. We have a break for coffee and something hot and sweet from the oven! Take home a whole quiche, fun mini quiches, and your own rough puff pastry. We give you class notes and recipes, and further ideas to make the most of all you learn. 1.00 - 4.30p.m.   Click here for online shop and purchasing bakery classes

Bunny Illustrated Easter Egg

Christmas Cake

We put sherry, brandy, peel, lots of fruit and perfect spice into this juicy Christmas cake, Wrapped in think artisan marzipan made only with real almonds - limited number, order early to avoid disappointment!

12cm £10.50
16cm £18.00
20cm £28.00

Traditional Chocolate Log

The classic traditional chocolate log recipe. Genoise sponge rolled up around a delightful whipped ganache. Wheat-free. 10.5cm £9.45 14cm £12.60 17.5cm £15.50 21cm £18.60 32cm £27.00

Croquant Log

Rich chocolate mousse set on a layer of ganache over a praline base. Drizzled with a dark chocolate glaze. 10.5cm £9.45 14cm £12.60 17.5cm £15.50 21cm £18.60 32cm £27.00

Framboisier Raspberry Cake

Light Genoise sponge soaked in a syrup, and melt-in-your-mouth chiboust cream turned in with raspberries. A summery delight!   Please allow 2 days notice

Mousse des vagues

One of the most delightful and popular mousse cakes. Velvety dark and milk chocolate mousse and raspberries. Wrapped in a thin chocolate case and standing on a light flourless, chocolate sponge. The top is layered with dark chocolate waves, which is where it gets its name - mousse of waves!   Please allow 2 days' notice

Fraisier Strawberry Cake

This cake is a summer classic, comprised of moistened, génoise sponge layers separated by a light vanilla chiboust and fresh strawberries. Extremely popular for birthdays, a great cake to decorate with a special birthday message. Also good to tier into a stunning display. The Fraisier is finished with a softly set fruit glaze and decorated with berries.     Please allow 2 days' notice

Metis Mousse with Gold Dust

A rich chocolate mousse with a vanilla crème brûlée centre and a soft sponge base containing no flour. Beautifully finished with a mirror glaze and gold dust sprinkle. If you like chocolate mousses you may also like to try the croquant chocolat! Celebration messages can be written with dark or white chocolate.   Please allow 2 days' notice

Raspberry and Passion Fruit Mousse

A deliciously fruity combination of light, tangy passion fruit mousse and raspberry mousse on a moist almond sponge base. Raspberry glaze finish makes it very pretty to adorn with a message.      

Croquant Chocolat

The Croquant Chocolat makes a fantastic choice to present as a birthday cake as it lends itself so beautifully to being adorned with a special birthday message. Light, wonderfully chocolatey, and perfectly balanced in richness - the Croquant is a very special treat. A crispy praline base covered in a layer of dark chocolate ganache. Then a medium-dark chocolate mousse topped with chocolate glaze.   Please allow 2 days' notice

Tiramisu Vegan Cake

Luxurious vegan layered cake, a real treat! The bottom genoise sponge layer is infused with rum and fresh espresso coffee. The next layer is a light vanilla, cashew nut and maple syrup mousse. Then, a smooth creamy coffee and date layer - topped with rich dark chocolate vegan ganache - and dusted with cocoa! Go on, treat yourself!    

Fraisier Wedding or Party Cake

The Fraisier cake displayed on a 3 tier stand. This strawberry based cake is perfect as a summer wedding cake or birthday party cake. Read more or see our cake display kit at the end of this menu. You may also be interested to read about our Piece Montee wedding cake, a traditional show-stopping tower of creme patissier filled profiteroles.  

Cake Display Stand

Choose whatever cakes you like and display up to five tiers on this display. It's very easy to put together and can be assembled on site. The display can be borrowed for no charge, although we do need to hold a deposit. Please note you are advised to keep your cakes chilled until an hour before eating them.

Artisan baguette

This baguette won the World Bread Awards in 2018. It's made with traditional French flour, a sourdough poolish (batter-like dough) and a small amount of yeast. Very crusty, the best bit being the particularly crunchy pointy ends. We bake the rolls shown here late in the morning to use them for simple but the most delicious lunchtime sandwiches!  

Chewy Brown

Traditionally called a campaillou, this is one of our most popular loaves. Trademarked and now very much part of Brighton's food culture introduced back in 1999. The Chewy Brown loaf is made from a combination of rye and malted wheat sourdough, is good for almost anything, but makes particularly wonderful toast!

Chewy White

An open textured crusty white bread excellent for toasting. The dough is fermented in tubs and knocked back and folded over the course of the day until it is cut into chunks and and loaded into the oven. Full creamy flavour. The bread is baked very hot so you can relish the wheaty aroma of the deeply caramelled crust!

Spelt sourdough

What a bread! An Open Bakery special... Deeply caramelised, aromatic crust. The most wonderful thing about this loaf is the wholemeal spelt flour with which we make it - a rough ground flour, rich in minerals. Starting with a wet dough gives the bread perfect moisture and a really satisfying texture.

Farmhouse Cob

We make this simple white loaf from French flour and a rye sourdough starter to give great taste and a beautiful warm colour to the crumb. You may also like the Chewy White  

Campagrain Loaf (multicereal bread)

This is one of our most flavoursome and wholesome loaves packed with amazing ingredients. To get the full benefit of all the goodness that goes into the multi-cereal, we let the dough rest overnight which allows more moisture into the crumb. A mix of wheat, barley, toasted flaxes, sunflower seeds and more! A full nutty flavour.

Stonebaked oval seeded

An Open Bakery favourite. The seeds which we soak before using give it light nutty flavour:  linseeds, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds give it omega 3, minerals and vitamins so good healthy stuff! This bread is made with traditional French wheat flour and a little rye sourdough starter for extra colour and flavour.    

Wheat Sourdough

Our authentic artisan sourdough loaf has a deep caramel crust and firm open texture. A course-ground French white wheat flour (traditional Francaise) gives the wonderful aroma and flavour to the crumb and the well-baked crust adds the finishing touch. Sourdough loaves vary greatly in intensity depending on how each bakery prepares its dough. We prepare ours to be mellow,  sour enough to give a really satisfying full, deep flavour.

Rye sour

A pure rye sourdough. Mouth watering thinly sliced with savoury toppings. This dough is made very wet like a batter. Then a very long ferment allows the sourdough's flavour to mature to its full tanginess! Will keep for ages, and excellent for making mini sandwiches!  

Traditional French Baguette

You know a good French baguette because all you need is a slice of cheese for the most amazing meal! The authentic sweet taste and fine crust comes from making our baguettes with fine, French flour.  

Authentic Italian Focaccia

Soft crusted, Italian bread with a light open texture. The dough is made with extra virgin olive oil. And we drizzle it on too. Loaded with lovely ingredients. This product is seasonal and not available all year round, please contact us for flavours and availability.  

Fjord

A rich, dense, dark, Scandinavian style bread packed full of seeds and with added herbs. High in fibre and protein and low in carbohydrates. Introduced to our range in late 2013 this unusual and flavoursome bread is quickly gaining in popularity. For ingredients and allergen information please click on the highlighted individual product in the list below.

Patisserie and Viennoiserie

Baked each morning, we recommend you try and get in early when the croissants, danishes and other pastries are just out of the oven and still warm! Our croissant recently won the accolade of the Great Taste Gold Star. Party Food - see our full range of mini tarts, pastries, savouries and other tasty bites!

Savoury

Award winning quiche, sandwiches and other mouth watering savouries baked and placed straight onto the shelves! With all our food we like to switch ingredients around with the seasons, so it’s always worth popping in to see what’s on the menu. Party food, quiches, minis and other savouries can be ordered for special occasions.  

Fraisier with patterned marzipan

The same genoise sponge and vanilla chiboust cream cake but dressed with a pink sunset icing, an option also available for the raspberry framboisier.

Framboisier with patterned meringue

An alternative to the meringue top.