Course Syllabus 2026

Course Title:

Jewish Style Breads, Bagels, and Rolls

When: Winter session 2026, Tuesdays, 1:00 to 3:00 PM

Coordinator:

Robert Sandy

Phone: (317) 332-0772

E-mail: rsandy@me.com

Course Description:

My goal for the course is that everyone in the class will be able to make at home all of breads, rolls, and bagels listed in the syllabus. Each participant will be making the products listed in the syllabus during the class. Wearing an apron will be helpful, as will wearing old clothes. Expect to get messy.

What is genuinely “Jewish” can be a contentious historical question, even in reference to bread and rolls (hereafter “products”). For this course, Jewish products will be the breads and rolls Jews typically eat. Often, back in the “old country” the same products were commonly consumed by nearby non-Jews. I am not claiming that Jews invented any of these products. My father owned a Jewish bakery in Detroit. In the 1960s when I was in high school and college, I worked in his bakery and in others to learn the business. Our products were mostly shaped by hand. Based on my experience, this course will stick to traditional ingredients and hand-made products. My father didn’t use preservatives and dough conditioners. I don’t use them now because they affect the taste and texture. Also, machine-made products often require softer doughs that yields a less chewy product. The list of products runs from the oldest to the most recent: pita bread, sourdough bread, “French” bread, kaiser and other rolls with egg doughs, challah, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, and bagels.

Course Format:

The sequence of products runs from the most ancient (pita and sourdough breads) to the most recent and most complicated (pumpernickel and bagels). To have a large enough space and the necessary equipment, the class will be held at my house. I live at 265 Laurel Avenue in Providence, a short distance from Temple Beth-El. During the first hour of each session, I will demonstrate a new product, showing how to mix, proof, shape, and bake. Class members will either bake products in class if they can be baked quickly (the pita, French baguettes, kaiser rolls) or take home ready-to-bake loaves at the end of each class. 

The second hour will have three presentations by class members about the previous week’s product. The presentations will be about ten to fifteen minutes. The presenters will make their products from scratch at home. Each presenter will bring samples to taste and describe any problems, suggest any improvements, and/or describe how they usually make the same product differently. It is important to keep in mind that there are dozens of reasons for a product to fail. Failures are part of the learning process. Understanding why a bread failed and how to avoid it is the crucial lesson.  

Expenses: 

We will use some specialized ingredients that are not sold in grocery stores or local bakery supply stores including four kinds of specialty flours: medium rye, first clear, high gluten, and dark rye, plus toppings for sesame and everything bagels, yeast, malted barley syrup, and food grade lye. Even for ingredients that are available locally, bulk buying will be way cheaper. Each class member will have five pounds of each type of flour in Ziplock bags. The cost of the ingredients that will be distributed during the first class session will be $30 per class member. On the financial plus side, there is no expense for renting classroom space.

Syllabus by week:

1. January 13

a) types of flours, other ingredients, and equipment presentation by me  

    b) pita bread making, sours, and pre-ferments presentation by me

    c) dividing the bulk ingredients to take home 

2. January 20

a) sourdough bread presentation by me 

    b) pita bread results presentations by three class members

3. January 27

a) French bread presentation by me 

    b) sourdough bread results presentations by three class members

4. February 3

a) kaiser and other rolls with egg-based doughs presentation by me

    b) French bread results presentations by three class members

5. February 10

a) challah presentation by me 

    b) egg-dough rolls results presentations by three class members

6. February 17

a) rye bread presentation by me

    b) challah bread results presentations by three class members

7. February 24

a) pumpernickel bread presentation by me

    b) rye bread results presentations by three class members

8. March 3

a) bagels presentation by me 

    b) pumpernickel bread results presentations by three class members

9. March 10

a) bagel results presentation by three class members

    b) class party

About the instructor:

Robert Sandy has been an LLC coordinator the Battery Electric Vehicles and the Concerts and Conversations about classical music courses. He is a two-time winner of the Temple Beth-El World Series of Jewish Cooking contest for his pumpernickel bread and his Dobos Torte.