I am a steadfast supporter of Aioli, the Michelin Bib Gourmand–recognized café and bakery in southern West Palm Beach. I remember the first ground-shaking sip of mushroom soup I had there shortly after it opened in 2014. It’s been a fixture in some of the biggest moments of my life ever since. My mom—who requests chocolate babka as “payment” for her babysitting services—gifted me a dozen of Aioli’s signature Saturday doughnuts for my first Mother’s Day. When I had my second baby, my husband brought me their tuna salad in the hospital to satisfy a fierce postpartum craving. And on the days when toddler parenting feels impossible, Aioli’s Crack Coffee is there to get me through.
All that to say: I love Aioli. And I love Aioli’s bread. Which is probably why, when the sourdough-baking craze hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, I never even considered picking up the hobby. Why would I take up finger painting when I have access to Michelangelo?
The Michelangelo in question is chef Michael Hackman. With help from a dedicated bakery team, Michael crafts sourdough loaves around the clock using a “mother”—the naturally fermented starter that leavens and flavors sourdough—that dates to June 2016. His sourdough has become so beloved in the local food community that he and his wife, Melanie, recently debuted a new chef-led sourdough workshop, where participants can learn Michael’s 12 steps of sourdough baking, from how to feed and nurture a starter all the way through the final bake.
“A lot of people don’t actually know what sourdough is, or they’ve only tried the mass-produced versions and assume they don’t like it,” says Michael. “When we first started, we spent a lot of time educating guests about how true sourdough is made: the fermentation, the starter, the process. Thankfully, more people understand it now, but there’s still a big gap between factory-made ‘sourdough’ and the real thing.”
Michael demystifies the sourdough process—which he describes as “not hard but so complex”—during the semiprivate class. While it takes the Aioli team at least 72 hours to make a loaf, Micheal condenses the experience to two hours. How? He does it a bit out of order.
You’ll begin by watching him bake off a few loaves. While they cool, he’ll explain the starter and demonstrate how to mix the dough. Then you’ll take a short break to sample the freshly baked bread with an assortment of butters—during my class, the flavors were chili sriracha crunch, pesto Parmesan, and cinnamon brown sugar—before shaping two loaves, first into a boule (or ball) and finally into a batard (more of a football). You’ll take your loaves home in a banneton (proofing basket) and bake them yourself. If that still seems too daunting, you can leave them with Michael and pick up the finished product the next day at Aioli.
“I love meeting people who genuinely want to be there and are excited to learn,” Michael says of the workshop. “It’s especially rewarding when someone has been trying sourdough at home and comes in with lots of questions. Helping them troubleshoot and watching the light-bulb moment when something finally clicks is the best part. Being even a small part of someone’s sourdough journey means a lot to me.”
The class ignited something within me. I spent the next week obsessively watching sourdough-making videos on YouTube, tending to my starter, and purchasing tools of the trade. My first solo loaves were not up to Aioli standards, but that’s okay. If I’ve learned anything about making sourdough, it’s that you can’t rush it or expect perfection right away. Instead, lean into the slow, meditative nature of the process and commit to improving upon each bake.
Aioli’s sourdough workshops are part of a new monthly series. Classes sell out fast, so contact Aioli for the most up-to-date information. As Michael notes, his overall goal is to help people develop a new skill and give them the confidence to try it at home. “At its core, it’s about knowing how to feed yourself—having a skill you can return to again and again in your own kitchen.”
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