SAN FRANCISCO — MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best across a wide range of subjects, today announced that acclaimed baker Apollonia Poilâne will teach a class on bread baking. Poilâne will share inspiring anecdotes and expert techniques from her family’s storied legacy, teaching members how to take on a sensorial approach to bread baking—a unique method that has distinguished Poilâne from other bakeries over the past 80 years. Poilâne’s class is now available exclusively on MasterClass, where subscribers get unlimited access to all 100+ instructors with an annual membership.
“In this flash-in-the-pan world, Apollonia represents the things that endure—a company passed down through three generations and a commitment to honoring the timeless tradition of bread baking,” said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. “In her MasterClass, she will intimately share her passion and help members understand how to best utilize their senses while baking.”
In her MasterClass, Poilâne will teach an approach to bread baking that is sensory, fluid and adaptable, sharing her passion for honoring the philosophies and techniques that her family has perfected over eight decades. Through rich stories of Poilâne’s personal history alongside expert tips, members will learn her family’s method for making five kinds of bread, including brioche, rye and her novel sourdough starter. With warm energy and profound determination, Poilâne will teach members how to develop their senses and how a loaf of bread, and the practical ways to use it, change over time. She also shares her rare insight on the evolution of bread, paired with a number of creative and practical recipes involving bread at all stages, which she calls breadcooking. From a true-to-form take on pesto to an innovative riff on granola, her view on using bread as an ingredient will inspire members to never leave a crumb behind. Regardless of prior baking experience, members will leave Poilâne’s class feeling inspired to try their hand at her recipes and feel a deeper appreciation for the timeless traditions of baking bread.
“Baking at home, putting your hands in flour, getting a feel for the dough and seeing your bread rise is a one-of-a-kind experience, one that you must do in your lifetime,” Poilâne said. “In my MasterClass, the most important lesson I will teach you is how to attune your five senses to what it is that makes the perfect loaf.”
Beginning life cradled in a crib made from a bread basket, Poilâne was poised to take over Poilâne, her famed family bakery in Paris, founded by her grandfather in 1932. Following the accidental death of her parents in 2002, she assumed the title of CEO at the tender age of 18, and ran the international bakery and business for four years from her Harvard University dorm room. Nearly two decades later, Poilâne has successfully carried the bakery into the 21st century, expanding to four boutiques in Paris, growing her bakery in London, renovating the “manufacture” just outside of Paris and developing new product offerings in order to supply thousands of handmade loaves of bread each day. She is also responsible for growing the e-commerce business that allows overnight shipments of their world-famous baked goods to loyal customers across the globe, all while prioritizing intention over expansion. In 2019, she released Poilâne: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery, which was named one of the most essential new cookbooks that year. In 2020, the book was published in French as Poilâne, des grains aux pains.
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Launched in 2015, MasterClass is the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best. With an annual membership, subscribers get unlimited access to 100+ instructors and classes across a wide range of subjects, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Anna Wintour’s office, Ron Finley’s garden and Neil Gaiman’s writing retreat. Get inspired by RuPaul, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes, and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn on your own terms—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge. Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel like you’re one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable instructor guides help reinforce your learning. Stream thousands of lessons anywhere, anytime, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV® and Roku® players and devices.