Bread Ahead Doughnut Workshop Review

Every time I visit Borough Market there is a huge queue outside the Bread Ahead shopfront, and I see customers walking away happily with their boxes of their iconic doughnuts. On Sunday afternoon, I was invited to one of their workshops to find out the secret to making their infamous doughnuts.

I’m quite a keen baker, but had never made doughnuts before, so was interested to find out the process. My other half on the other hand, is a keen doughnut eater; so he was excited to be tasting them along the way!

Upon arrival to our class, we were given a yummy brownie and sat down at our table to start baking. Our first challenge was making the doughnut dough – from measuring and mixing the ingredients to kneading and banging the dough to make it smooth. Have to say, I didn’t have enough anger in me for the slapping method, so stuck to the option of kneading with my hands instead! The instructor on hand was super helpful, and came over if ever we needed any assistance to get the dough to the right consistency.

As the dough needed to prove for longer than our class, we were given some pre-prepared dough to make the doughnuts and proceeded to shape and prove these, then moved on to make a brioche loaf. The process was really simple and I’m looking forward to trying mine – I bet it will be delicious with French toast!

Back to the doughnuts and once our dough had proved, next came the frying. I was a bit nervous of the deep fat fryer, but we fried them gently for 3 mins on each side before taking out and covering in sugar. I love a jam and sugar doughnut, but we were filling ours with a vanilla cream or a chocolate mixture. To fill, we were taught how to make the hole the right size and pipe in the vanilla or chocolate mix, with the signature Bread Ahead swirl on top.

At the end of the class, we went home with 6 homemade doughnuts, 4 from the professionals, a brioche loaf and a tummy full of creme patisserie, cookies and brownies; all made by the Bread Ahead experts. The class was such good value for money and was such a fun and wholesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon – I really can’t wait to go back to try another one!

Bread Ahead offer classes at both their London Bridge and Wembley branches, and a full list of classes can be found here – all of which are perfect for a day out with friends or a loved one, or for birthday or Christmas presents!