Heirloom-varieties : flour production, analysis and bread-making
A training program for bakers who want to better understand their flours.

Is this training for me?
This training can be financed for French residents. Don't hesitate to contact us to learn more.
Bakers and Farmer-Bakers
Do you want to deepen your knowledge of flour, your main raw material?
Do you want to better understand your production and improve your products?
You want to structure your theoretical knowledge and discover other bread-making processes.
Experienced enthusiasts
You have an interest in organic bread-making with natural sourdough starter.
You already practice bread-making and want to learn more about farmers' varieties.
Some additional theoretical and practical foundations in sourdough baking would be welcome.
What you need to know about this course
L'école internationale de boulangerie is the fruit of more than twenty years' expertise in the bakery industry
If you have an interest in flours from heirloom varieties, this training will give you the keys to understand their technical specificities.
The practical teaching alternates demonstrations, repetitions, and semi-independent production to properly grasp the different techniques (breads and milling).
During this week, you will mill, analyse and test different flours (even your own if you wish!).
The ideal training to understand everything about grain milling, and to discover how to use a stone mill (Astrié type).
Testimonials
The opinion of over 1,000 people trained since 2007
The dates of our next training courses (in French)
This course takes place over one week, with a total of 40 hours of training.
It is possible to register for the course up until the last working day before the start of the course, subject to places being available.
Enrolment requests are processed in the chronological order of receipt of complete applications. Since registration is only effective and recorded after a 10-day withdrawal period and the payment of the deposit, it is possible that the counter still shows available places while the school is already processing ongoing applications. Therefore, the submission of your complete application does not guarantee your registration in any case, as it will only be effective after confirmation from the secretariat.
The dates of our next training courses (in English)
This course takes place over one week, with a total of 40 hours of training.
It is possible to register for the course up until the last working day before the start of the course, subject to places being available.
Enrolment requests are processed in the chronological order of receipt of complete applications. Since registration is only effective and recorded after a 10-day withdrawal period and the payment of the deposit, it is possible that the counter still shows available places while the school is already processing ongoing applications. Therefore, the submission of your complete application does not guarantee your registration in any case, as it will only be effective after confirmation from the secretariat.
More specifically, what is included in this training?
A comprehensive one-week course combining theory and practical baking and milling.
- 8 hoursTheory: Bread-making and milling
- 18 hoursBread-making
- 14 hoursMilling and analyses
Bread-making theory
Flour characteristics
Making "pain de campagne" (several techniques)
Making specialty breads (depending on available flours)
Independent use of the mill
Different types of flour from different cereals
semi-independent production to carry out concrete tests
Recipe book
Option to bring / send in flours for testing
Assessment methods: Trainees are assessed during team practice sessions, through their use of the mill throughout the week, and with a knowledge quiz on the theoretical aspects.
The detailed program
A patient and competent educational team to support you throughout your training course.
- Module 1
Bread-making theory – Flour characteristics and analysis – Economic data
Understand bread-making processes and the specificities of flours from heirloom varieties.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Know the roles of the different elements involved in bread-making (water, starch, gluten, pentosans, enzymes, salt, ferments) and understand their interactions.
Understand flour analyses as well as the specificities related to the use of farmers’ varieties flours and the link with bread-making.
Identify market opportunities and analyse the economic viability of setting up a mill and of working with heirloom varieties.
- Module 2
Making breads with natural sourdough using heirloom varieties flours
Make pain de campagne with natural sourdough using flours from farmers’ varieties.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Master the basics of natural sourdough baking techniques: mechanical and hand mixing; folding, dividing, shaping, panning, inclusions, toppings; preparation on the oven loader and scoring of pain de campagne and a few specialty breads.
Know the principles of baking (baking time, drying).
The following flours may be used: Rouge de Bordeaux, Saissette de Provence, Barbu du Roussillon, a blend of farmers’ wheats, rye and einkorn.
In addition to learning the production steps, one of the objectives is to enable trainees to observe the presence or absence of organoleptic variations in the final product when using different types of flour (differences in grains, milling, freshly milled vs. aged (rested) flours) and in the finished products.
- Module 3
Milling - Analyses
Grasp the complexity of grain milling work.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Clean, store, and mill grain, then bag the flour, identifying the different parameters to monitor (work on an Astrié-type stone mill).
Understand how flour analyses work and their results.
Be at least 18 years old
Correct use of written and spoken French
Have experience in sourdough bread-making
Mastery of basic calculation rules (proportionality, etc.)
À propos de la formation "Farines : Variétés Paysannes, meunerie et panification"
26 retours depuis 2025 (74% de retours) - Taux d'abandon en cours de formation (toutes années confondues) : 0 %
A team of trainers attentive to your needs
Plenty of hands-on practice: milling with the school's mill, and baking with the different flours produced
Precise theoretical input on flour characteristics
Heirloom Varieties: Milling and Baking
Financing by France Travail, VIVEA, OPCO EP, FAFCEA, AGEFICE, OCAPIAT possible for French residents
40 hours of training
Access to expertise developed over many years in natural sourdough bread-making
Access to the école internationale de boulangerie' network (professionals, companies specialising in bakery equipment, trainees, etc.)
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What is the Club EIDB?
It is an intranet that gives users access to a wide range of functions.
In particular, you can submit an application for a training session at the École internationale de boulangerie, as well as:
download a personal quote
access the school's recipe book
start a training registration
consult a marketplace with ads regarding everything related to organic and sourdough baking
discuss technical and business issues on a forum...
access all the information you need to organise your training course
access a list of suppliers of bakery equipment and services



















