Discover the Best Baking Classes in Los Angeles
Baking is working with high heat in a convection oven to create delicious, scrumptious homemade goods. Baking combines ingredients of flour, sugar and eggs to create treats like homemade bread, cakes, muffins, bagels and cupcakes. The process of combining ingredients and high heat has been a popular method of cooking for over two centuries, with the ability to cook baked goods from the comfort of your kitchen. Baking is a useful skill for catering family events, like birthday parties, anniversaries and weddings. Baking is a great way to forge connections with friends, family and neighbors alike.
Why You Should Learn Baking in Los Angeles
Baking is a useful skill to have for catering events, like family weddings, anniversary parties and graduations. Baking is a wonderful way to forge connections with family, friends and neighbors. Community baking classes are a fun way to make friends with similar interests within your city, including in Los Angeles. Specialty bakeries and cupcake shops are popular in large cities. The culinary arts are becoming more popular after the pandemic because baking became a common hobby. Baking is a fun way to unite people within the community, with schools and colleges holding baking courses and community baking sales.
Pastry chefs in the area of Los Angeles have starting salaries ranging from $41,000 to $51,000 per year, according to Glassdoor. Pastry chefs can also open up their own bakeries, specialty shops and catering businesses. Baking is also a fun way to start a side hustle as a small business, catering service or pastry chef. Baking is also an in-demand career with pastry chefs and private chefs being high in demand, but short in supply.
In-Person Baking Classes in Los Angeles
Various in-person baking classes are offered in the city of Los Angeles. The positives of in-person baking courses offer wonderful opportunities to work in a hands-on environment with the guidance of experienced and seasoned instructors. The cost of materials and ingredients are typically included in the cost of in-person baking classes with CourseHorse. The other advantages include meeting classmates with similar interests and finding courses that welcome all levels of learners, from beginners to advanced students.
The first course offered in Los Angeles is Bread Fundamentals, offered by Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom. The course starts at $150 per person, with class sizes of 12. The workshop is located in West Los Angeles, in the Westside neighborhood. Learning how to make bread covers techniques for kneading, rolling the dough and pairing breads with homemade jams. The course includes a menu of brioche bread, baguettes and focaccia bread.
Another course offered in the area of Hollywood is Parent & Me Decorating: Cupcake, Cake Pops & Mini Cakes. This workshop is perfect for parents and children, aimed towards kids 6-15 years old. With the help of parents, kids can learn how to make frosting and how to decorate cake pops, cupcakes and cakes. The kids can also learn how to color the frosting and piping techniques. The cost of materials and ingredients are required, but bookings begin at $75 per person, making the course accessible for young families. The course is taught by Los Angeles City College, providing a great opportunity to connect with your local community.
The third course being offered in Los Angeles is the Regular Pizza Course taught by VPN Americas. The workshop is very in-depth, with instruction on dough making, pizza history, cheese making and even a fun trivia portion of the course. The course even has a cheese tasting portion of the chance to try fresh mozzarella cheese and others. The workshop includes detailed instruction on making dough, preparing fresh cheese, placing toppings and making Classical Neapolitan Pizzas. The course is taught by VPN Americas, which is a specialty cooking school teaching Italian techniques on making authentic Neapolitan Pizza.
Another interesting course option for in-person instruction is the Mystery of The Macaron, Baking and Decorating. The workshop demystifies the complicated baking process of making homemade macaroons and aids with the instruction revolving around filling and decorating these delicate French-style cookies. The workshop also provides instruction on coloring, flavoring and baking these savory treats. The cost of supplies and ingredients are included. The workshop is taught by Cakery by Syd, located in Downtown Glendora.
Another course offered by Cakery by Syd is the Gum Paste Dahlia on Ruched Fondant. The workshop provides instruction on making a beautiful fondant cake with blossoming dahlia flowers on top. The process involves learning how to gum paste and design the leaves, with additional aid with ruching and decorating tips. Cakery by Syd is a specialty cake shop, located downtown with a laidback and fun atmosphere. The supply list is provided and can be bought at A&J Cake and Candy Supply. The workshop starts at $50 per person.
Another pizza-centered workshop is the Neapolitan Pizza Party, provided by CocuSocial Cooking Classes. Learn how to bake, knead and create your own delicious Neapolitan pizza, with fresh cheese and achieve the perfect balance between sauce and a golden soft crust. The workshop has a laid back, fun atmosphere, great for all levels of bakers. The workshop is located in Anaheim, taught by CocuSocial, a provider that encourages the culinary arts at local restaurants and venues. The variety of workshops offer great experiences for beginners and advanced chefs alike.
Virtual Baking Classes
The positives of attending online baking classes are based on a flexible schedule, based on your own time, and from the comfort of your own kitchen. Time management is a huge positive for virtual baking classes because it saves time on commuting. The additional positive benefits is that multiple platforms, like Youtube and Zoom, can be used to attend virtual classes. However, being prepared is important for virtual baking classes because of the requirement to buy your own equipment and ingredients, as well as having access to an oven.
Some online baking classes include how to make French Macarons Step-by Step and the Cinnamon Roll Workshop, taught by the Good Food Project of New York City. The French Macarons course is offered online in the spring. Both courses are available through Zoom, and the required supplies are a mixing bowl, measuring cups, spoons, a rolling pin, and access to an oven. The French macaroons course is a wonderful opportunity to make these delicate pastries from scratch.
The courses are available through hands-on workshops that teach excellent recipes and techniques. Both courses are an excellent virtual experience with the convenience of online learning and working within your own home and kitchen. However, there are some disadvantages to virtual baking courses, such as needing to buy your own supplies and ingredients. Lastly, the virtual component allows for easy distance learning on your schedule.
Private Group Baking Classes in Los Angeles
Learning how to bake with a group can be an even more enjoyable and worthwhile experience, for small and large groups, CourseHorse has you covered with a fun variety of baking workshops. Private group baking classes are wonderful for groups of co-workers; whether it be for large or small companies, it’s a great team-building experience. Baking classes are a great stress reliever and creative outlet for teams, especially when they can be scheduled on your schedule and bookings can be modified in advance. CourseHorse offers multiple supported platforms, with the convenience of group size being able to be modified and confirmation is sent within 24 hours.
A unique workshop experience offered by CourseHorse is the Virtual Pancake Art Workshop. The cost of materials is included, but additional equipment may be needed, such as pans, mixing bowls, spatulas, whisks, griddles and toppings for fun pancake art. The workshop is an hour long, starting at $70 per person and can be held for groups of up to 100 people. The workshop provides instruction on making pancake art, from making the batter to decorating. Making shapes like flowers, stars and letters are just a few of the techniques being taught, as well as layering to create other unique shapes.
A fun beginner-friendly group workshop is the Virtual Truffle Making Workshop. This group workshop discusses making classic truffles with chocolate filling and the process of making homemade truffles from scratch. The workshop is sure to be a hit for the whole team. Bookings start at $65 per person and run an hour, with the maximum group size being 250 people. The ingredients are included, but additional supplies of pans, baking sheets, parchment paper, spatulas, cookie scoops, whisks and bowls are needed.