Born from aPassion for Bread
What started as one baker's obsession in a tiny apartment kitchen has grown into the world's most trusted sourdough education platform — with over 5,200 certified graduates across 60+ countries.
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Trusted by the world's top food media
From Dense Bricks to Open Crumb
I didn't set out to build an academy. I just wanted to bake a decent loaf of bread. I worked in a factory but always knew I wanted a better life. A turn of events left me jobless and gardening at home and eventually led me to create a sourdough starter, Gertrude. I still had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
Every weekend for two years, I baked. I read every book, watched every video, joined every forum. I failed spectacularly — and learned something from every failure. When I finally cracked the science behind fermentation, hydration, and shaping, everything clicked.
Friends started asking me to teach them. Then their friends. Then strangers on the internet. I realized the problem wasn't a lack of sourdough content — it was a lack of structured, science-backed, beginner-friendly sourdough education.
So I built what I wished had existed when I started. Certified Sourdough Academy is that course — and now it's a full community of bakers who've transformed their kitchens, their confidence, and in many cases, their careers.
How We Got Here
DEAN baked his first sourdough in a cast iron skillet in his Chicago apartment. It was dense, gummy, and completely inedible — but he was hooked.
After 400+ experimental loaves and countless failed starters, DEAN cracked the code on consistent open crumb. Friends started asking for lessons.
Certified Sourdough Academy launched with a single 8-module course. 200 students enrolled in the first week. The waitlist hit 1,000 within a month.
We added live virtual workshops with real-time instructor feedback. Completion rates jumped to 94% — the highest in online culinary education.
Our graduates now span 60+ countries. Many have opened bakeries, launched food blogs, or simply transformed their family's relationship with bread.
Expanding into professional certification tracks, in-person retreats, and a global baker's marketplace. The dough keeps rising.
To make world-class sourdough education accessible to everyone
We believe that with the right guidance, anyone can bake beautiful, nourishing sourdough bread. Our mission is to remove the mystery, replace it with science and community, and certify a new generation of confident bakers.
Our Core Values
Science First
We don't just teach recipes — we teach the why. Understanding fermentation, gluten development, and hydration gives you the power to troubleshoot any loaf, anywhere.
Community Over Competition
Bakers lift each other up. Our forum, live workshops, and peer feedback culture are built on the belief that sharing knowledge makes everyone better.
Beginner Respect
We remember what it felt like to not know anything. Every course is designed to meet students where they are — no gatekeeping, no jargon without explanation.
Certification That Means Something
Our certification isn't a participation trophy. It requires demonstrated skill, completed projects, and instructor review. Employers and customers recognize it.
Accessible Worldwide
Great bread doesn't belong to any one culture or country. Our courses are designed for any kitchen, any climate, any flour — from Chicago to Cape Town.
Bread as Connection
The best loaves are the ones you share. We believe sourdough is about more than food — it's about slowing down, creating something with your hands, and feeding the people you love.
Our Impact by the Numbers
The Instructors Behind Your Transformation
Every instructor at the Academy is a working baker with real credentials, real experience, and a genuine passion for teaching.
DEAN
DEAN spent two years obsessively perfecting sourdough before launching the Academy in 2021. His background in software engineering gave him a unique analytical approach to bread — treating each loaf as a system to optimize. He's baked over 2,000 loaves, developed 14 original courses, and personally mentored hundreds of students through live workshops.
- Certified Bread Baker (CBB)
- Former Software Engineer turned Baker
- Featured in Bon Appétit & Food52
- 2,000+ loaves baked
- Sourdough Fundamentals
- Fermentation Science Deep Dive
- Troubleshooting Your Starter
Chef James Okafor
Chef James trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent eight years as head baker at two Michelin-starred restaurants in New York before joining the Academy. His scoring and shaping workshops are consistently the highest-rated in our catalog — students describe his feedback as 'the most useful 30 minutes of my baking life.'
- CIA Graduate (Baking & Pastry Arts)
- Former Head Baker, Eleven Madison Park
- James Beard Award Nominee 2023
- 8 years professional bakery experience
- Advanced Scoring & Crust Artistry
- Professional Shaping Masterclass
- Baguettes & Batards
Elena Vasquez
Elena holds a Master's in Food Science from Oregon State and is a Registered Dietitian who became obsessed with the gut health benefits of long-fermented sourdough. She bridges the gap between nutrition science and practical baking, making her courses uniquely valuable for health-conscious bakers and those with dietary sensitivities.
- MS Food Science, Oregon State University
- Registered Dietitian (RD)
- Author: 'The Fermented Kitchen' (2024)
- Specialist in gluten sensitivity & sourdough
- Whole Grain & Ancient Grains
- Sourdough for Gut Health
- Gluten-Sensitive Sourdough
Yuki Tanaka
Yuki trained in Tokyo and Paris before opening her own patisserie in San Francisco. She brings a meticulous Japanese approach to lamination and pastry technique that has earned her a cult following among students. Her croissant course has a 3-week waitlist and a 100% 5-star rating — the only course in our catalog to achieve that.
- Trained at École Ferrandi, Paris
- Former Pastry Chef, Benu (3 Michelin Stars)
- Owner, Tanaka Patisserie SF
- Specialty: sourdough lamination
- Sourdough Pastries & Lamination
- The Perfect Croissant
- Japanese Milk Bread & Shokupan
Are you an expert baker?
We're always looking for passionate instructors to join our team.
Ready to Bake YourBest Loaf Yet?
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