Bakery Consulting

Bakery consulting and training based on Charles van Over’s patented dough mixing technology and artisan bread techniques.

My patented dough mixing technology can be licensed for commercial use. As part of the licensing agreement, we provide bakery technical support and on-site training. Interested professionals may visit my demonstration site upon invitation.

Bread Concepts

The lessons I’ve learned since then, baking and tasting bread around the world, have informed the way I make bread today. What I’ve learned is incorporated into my patented system for making authentic French and European-style hearth breads. My methods are not only simpler than current methods, they produce great results – flavorful breads, full of rich wheat aromas with a developed cell structure and crust. My mission is to convince others to become interested in my breakthrough techniques. Those who have expressed serious interest in my methods have been convinced. Several bakeries use the system. Among the manufacturers I work with are Cuisinart, Stephan and Werner Pfleiderer.)

Here’s what restaurant critics are saying about bread made using my method:

“Its top-notch bread – a crusty, chewy utterly irresistible baguette is one of the components that makes this tiny gem………such a special place .…..,” the Hartford Courant.

“House-made baguettes, baked by a method devised by the Connecticut chef Charlie Van Over, are reason enough to eat here!” the New York Times Connecticut.

For more information, contact me.

Background

More than thirty years ago I started baking bread. What began as a hobby became my passion and eventually, my full-time vocation. At one time we had three restaurants, a charcuterie, a wholesale bakery and a consulting business. Like the first time I rode a bicycle I have had more than my share of spills along the way but I understand the balancing act it takes to make perfect bread. That first summer when I set my mind on learning to make bread, it was unbearably hot and humid in our kitchen, and the imperfect environment became the ideal laboratory for what could go wrong. I was determined to make the perfect baguette. Kneading the dough by hand, working my way through numerous mishaps, my baguettes started to taste delicious. That summer I learned two important bread baking lessons. First, in order to make great bread, you need to start with great dough made with the finest ingredients. Second, the dough needs sufficient time to sit, rise and develop a complex flavor. When we opened the Restaurant du Village, I mixed my bread dough using a conventional mixer. My appreciation for the flavor nuances of long fermentation grew.