Is a membership or a course?

We run our courses with in the structure of a club to give you maximum support so when you join the certified, and community memberships you become a club member

It is a very a different way to learn to bake sourdough

Vanessa has always taught sourdough as a lifestyle prescription. Recognising that community is at the heart of what it means to bake, she formed the Sourdough Club in 2009, as a way of bringing her students from her courses together and creating a way of learning that is about sharing. With over 400 posts, 130+ recipes and 80 detailed videos and tutorials that bring all the knowledge that you learn here right back into your kitchen, so you can continue to learn as you begin your journey into mastering the art of making sourdough. Most online courses will teach you how to make sourdough.  Vanessa’s approach is different. It is about understanding sourdough. Yes, you will learn to bake incredible open crumb voluptuous loves, and loaves, and to create golden sweet sourdough, cakes, brioches & light delicate wild fermented pastries. But you will also learn how to bake to nourish your gut.

The club began when Vanessa realised that even a whole week of baking really wasn’t enough to really teach people to fully master sourdough. Once you have learned the basics you’ve only just begun to learn. It takes practice and support to master sourdough, and so the club was formed as a virtual community of knowledge, recipes, tips, techniques, and support, with ongoing recipes that kept our students inspired to keep baking beautiful bread that nourishes.

What are the Benefits of being a member?

As a community member you will:

• Be able to discus your bakes in our live clinics on Thursday evenings
• Be the first to know of any courses run at The Sourdough School and have preferential rates and booking opertunities
• Have access to the community library with over 80 step-by-step &  video masterclasses
• Gain a deep understanding and insight into sourdough in your own time from core knowledge video tutorials, such as understanding the role of gluten, salt, water and flour. You’ll also learn how to add inclusions, what bakers percentages are and how to troubleshoot
• Have access to the recipes including the classic sourdough recipes from any of our 130 Recipes – which include timings and temperatures.
• Have access to the symbiotic eating recipes
• Be able to read in greater details the research behind each recipe and how it nourishes your Gut Microbiome
• Read in depth features on grain such as spelt, rye, & other heritage grains
• Be inspired with regular new recipes
• Interact with other members in our forum
• Join our live webinars with Vanessa and guests,
• Share your bakes and get reposted on the club Instagram account & #sourdoughclub
• Get club discounts 
• Giveaways
• Have access to exclusive articles by Vanessa Kimbell on sourdough and gut health
• Receive our bi-monthly e-magazine with tips, offers, competitions & giveaways

Which courses come with membership?

Courses with membership:

• All Certified Courses come with a 2 year Community memberships – I year course with a certificate all students automatically become community members We feel that it is a big decision to invest in a certified course because it is a commitment from you. You need to give yourself time to learn. Baking sourdough is not just about following one recipe it is about connecting to the process, so we support your learning with an active learning community with live clinics, a forum and new recipes and even 1:1 sessions with Vanessa if you get stuck.
• The community memberships  are purchasable (as a lifestyle prescription  course) and stand alone membership. We share our extensive community library of resources, and in return we expect you to bake, share, learn, recalibrate and repeat; this often suits bakers who have already done. course and the only way you will really improve your baking is by baking and making mistakes, and laughing and eating and trying again, with support and friendship. We’d rather you have a chat with us if you want to join and you are hesitant. You can book a chat with us directly here to find out more about the more in-depth courses that we run. “Vanessa won’t just teach you to make Sourdough bread, she will blow you away with how you can incorporate it into your everyday baking,” – Baker & Author Dan Lepard

Courses without membership

After many years we’ve many the decision to offer stand alone courses, without the

• 12 week Prescription courses are short 12 week courses bread for health as a social prescription on topic only.
• Kit & course – We post a kit out to you with a short course which is  a short 12 week courses and on topic only.
• Mini course – On topic only and great if you just want knowledge about a specific topic and you already have the ingredients and equipment.

As as Research Level member you will:

Have all of the above and you will also have access to the RESEARCH LEVEL recipes, features, articles and tasks as part of the ongoing week by week course.

Gift Vouchers:
If you would like to purchase this subscription as a gift for someone you can buy a Sourdough Club 12 Months Subscription Gift Voucher

Please note: if you cannot view the video above then it may be due to your country blocking Vimeo videos. Please try using an appropriate VPN to see this video. Please be aware that much of the Club’s content is via videos and if you cannot see this then you may not get the best value for your subscription.

An active members Forum

We have over 1000 active members many of whom as registered on our member map, so you can chat with each other to talk about the nuances of baking in your geographical area.  It is very useful to talk to other bakers, especially when it comes to finding the right flour in your country.



The Tutorials are based on the recipes and formulas in the Sourdough School’s Best Selling Book The Sourdough School.

The best selling book

The detailed tutorials are also aligned with the recipes and formula’s in Vanessa’s best selling book The Sourdough School. The book is also available on Amazon, in Croatian,  Hungarian, Spanish, German and Italian, but you can buy a signed copy from our shop.