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Please note: We are no longer stocking this DVD. You may order it directly from BreadHitz.com.

Disc 1: Yeasted Dough Techniques

This first disc in the Bread Art series is geared toward the professional baker/pastry chef wanting to use yeasted decorative breads to enhance a buffet or create an eye-catching window display. Chef Ciril Hitz teaches about basic tools, equipment, and mixing techniques necessary to successfully make the doughs and create the following projects:

• 2 to 6 strand braided breads
• Basketweave centerpiece, part 1
• Personalized flour-dusted logo
• Checkerboard centerpiece, part 1
• Wine bottle centerpiece
• Valentine Heart, part 1
• Round Display
• Bonus Material: Baguettes; Miche French country style bread

Disc 2: Non-Yeasted Dough Techniques

In this second disc in the Bread Art series geared toward the professional baker/pastry chef, the focus is on utilizing non-yeasted decorative breads to further enhance the yeasted decorative bread techniques covered in Disc 1 of the series. Chef Ciril Hitz teaches about basic tools, equipment, and mixing techniques necessary to successfully make the doughs and create the following projects:

• Marbleizing techniques
• Autumn centerpiece
• Silkscreen techniques
• Festive seasonal ornaments
• Gluing techniques
• Valentine Heart, part 2
• Preservation techniques
• Basketweave centerpiece, part 2
• Building a small showpiece
• Baking on simple 3-D forms
• Checkerboard centerpiece, part 2
• Easter Display, part 2
• Bonus Material: Totally-toasted Hazelnut Bread; Ciabatta "Focaccia"”

Disc 3: Building a Competition Piece

Disc 3 of the Bread Art series is geared toward the professional baker/pastry chef wanting to take the decorative bread techniques presented in Discs 1 and 2 to the competition level. Chef Ciril Hitz teaches about advanced tools and equipment, as well as how to design and execute a visually stunning showpiece. Topics covered in this disc include:

• Advanced marbleizing techniques
• Working with specialty molds
• Combining yeasted and non-yeasted elements
• Design elements and flow
• Calculated risk taking
• Practical tips on preparing for competition
• Bonus Material: Laminating doughs; Pumpkin Bread

Chef Ciril Hitz brings a unique expertise to the field of artisan and decorative breads. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design and then completed a three-year pastry-chocolate apprenticeship in his native Switzerland. Since that time, Chef Hitz developed a passion for baking exquisitely crafted bread that has earned him national and international recognition. He is currently the Department Chair for the International Baking and Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Chef Hitz competed in the 2004 National Bread & Pastry Team Championship where his two-person team won the Gold Medal and Hitz independently swept all three individual bread awards. In 2002 he represented the USA as a member of the Bread Bakers Guild Team at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) in Paris, France, where the team took home the Silver Medal. He has been a guest intructor and judge at many national and international culinary schools and events and serves on the Advisory Board of the Bread Bakers Guild of America.

Ciril Hitz has been featured on The NBC Today Show and The Food Network and has been honoured as a Top Ten Pastry Chef by Pastry Art & Design magazine in 2007 and 2008. He is the producer of two DVD series, Bread Art and Better Bread, and the author of the book, Baking Artisan Bread (Quarry Books/2008), and numerous magazine articles. For more information, visit www.breadhitz.com.