Bread-Making Classes

I am going to start to give Syrian (pita) bread-making classes on Saturdays, 1001 Washington Street, Michigan City, Indiana, 46360, in the Artists’ District. The pilot classes will be two hours long, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and I will be teaching how to make Syrian bread dough and Syrian bread—from proofing the yeast, to kneading the dough, to rising, shaping, rolling, and baking. You will bring home freshly baked loaves. The classes would be very small, four people, and cost $30 to cover the cost of the ingredients. Let me know! (You can also bring wine! Haha.)

Growing up in Michigan City in the 70s, I had never heard of the term pita bread. My family always called it Syrian bread. That was what Syrian-Lebanese people in my city called it, and they still do. On this site, I’ll use the phrase Syrian bread because store-bought pita is not exactly a clean substitute for my family’s Syrian bread. If you think of bread on a spectrum with Greek pita bread being at one end, and Indian naan at the other, my family’s bread is much closer to naan in color and texture. It is white, soft, pillowy, and made with milk—but where naan is a flatbread, Syrian bread has a pocket. It opens and you can stuff it full of anything your heart desires. 

If you tend to be intimidated by making bread, you shouldn’t be. The first time I made it, it came out great. And like my mom always says, “Life isn’t perfect.” If one of your loaves doesn’t open all the way, nobody will notice. They’ll be too busy eating.