Ailsa Barr
FOUNDER AND HEAD BAKER
Fifteen years at the ovens of a working bakery, now teaching sourdough and starters online.
Taught by a working baker in Leith, Edinburgh
Ailsa Barr at the ovens, Leith
Learn sourdough from fifteen years at the ovens
I'm Ailsa Barr. Fifteen years at the ovens of a working bakery taught me how bread really works. Now I teach home bakers the same steps, from starter to crust.
How the school began
From bakery floor to kitchen counter
Fifteen years of bakery mornings, turned into lessons anyone can follow at home.
I started Proof Bread School after fifteen years at the ovens of a working bakery, watching home bakers struggle alone with flat loaves and lifeless starters.
I wanted to put that bakery knowledge into written lessons you can keep open on the counter, and a free course to help with your first starter.
How we teach
Teaching built on real experience
Everything here comes from the bakery, not a textbook.
Fifteen years at the ovens
Every lesson comes from fifteen years working the ovens of a real bakery, not a recipe book.
Written lessons on the counter
Written lessons you can keep open on the counter while you bake, at your own pace.
A free starter course
A free course to start your first sourdough starter, so you can begin before you commit to anything.
Meet your teachers
Taught by working bakers
Real bakers, teaching the skills they use every day at the bench.
Tomasz Nowak
PASTRY BAKER, ENRICHED DOUGHS
Guides you through enriched doughs, from soft rolls to richer, buttery loaves.
Ready to bake
Start your own sourdough journey
Questions answered Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.