5 Best Online Baking & Pastry Arts Classes for 2023

| by
,
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through our links, we may earn a small commission. Learn more...

If you’re looking for the best online bakery and pastry arts classes, then you’re in the right place.

Want to be a pastry chef? Or improve your existing skillset? There are several online pastry classes available now. They will take you through the basics right up to advanced techniques.

best online bakery courses

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts – Best overall combination of online pastry arts, business management, and entrepreneurship classes.

The French Pastry School in Collaboration With Rouxbe – Best for people wanting an easy to use online course taught by master pastry chefs. 

IAP College Bakery Owner Certificate Course Online – Best for learning bakery business skills at an affordable price.

The Butter Book – Best platform of video recipes for people who want to create pastry masterpieces at home or on the job.

MasterClass – Dominique Ansel teaches French Pastry Fundamentals & Apollonia Poilâne teaches Bread Baking

Escoffier Culinary arts logo

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts

The Professional Pastry Arts diploma at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts offers a unique online education in baking and the pastry arts.

The industry-relevant program has classes in artisan bread baking, cake decorating, menu planning, business management, and more.

Escoffier website screen

You can choose between a diploma or an associate degree to further your education in the pastry arts, business management, and entrepreneurship.

Each program also needs an externship in the industry to provide a well-rounded baking and pastry art education.

What We Like About This Program

  • You can get a professional pastry arts diploma or an associate degree from a world-renowned school
  • Interactive courses delivered by professional chef instructors
  • Live classroom discussions and individual chef feedback
  • Learn the business side of the industry
  • The program includes a six-week externship in a food service establishment

Sign up for Escoffier

Additional Pastry Courses at Escoffier

Global Pastry Arts

This course investigates the geographical and cultural influences on desserts from across the world. Students will discover typical ingredients and key flavors in different types of desserts from around the world and learn how to prepare them using their specific techniques.

Building Your Own Business

This course covers a wide range of topics, including business planning, pricing, credit management, government regulation, legal issues, and business ethics. Students are taught how to manage and lead their firms. Students in this course finalize and present a food service company’s business plan as part of the final project.

The French Pastry School logo

The French Pastry School in Collaboration With Rouxbe

The French Pastry School, founded in 1995, is a major culinary school in North America dedicated to baking and pastry. The online course was produced in collaboration with Rouxbe, one of the world’s top online culinary schools.

The French Pastry School website

This 60-hour course includes 20 units and over 220 activities, ranging from kitchen fundamentals to cookies, bread, tarts, and other desserts.

The French Pastry School’s instructors include co-founders Sébastien Canonne and Jacquy Pfeiffer, a James Beard Award-winning author.

What We Like About The French Pastry School

  • The American Culinary Federation Education Foundation has approved this program
  • Recognized by the World Association of Chefs Societies as a quality culinary training
  • Both founding chefs have received the Academic Palms, the highest French National Order.

Sign up here

IAP College logo

IAP College – Bakery Owner Certificate Course Online

In this online Bakery Owner Certificate Course, you’ll learn business concepts and practical, step-by-step instructions for running a bakery and embarking on a professional career as a baker.

You’ll find out everything there is to know about owning a bakery, including what it takes to become a baker, how to improve your baking skills to succeed as one, how to start your bakery and run it successfully, and how to operate a bakeshop, market and sell baked items.

IAP College Website

The Bakery Owner Certificate Course is a six-week part-time online program. However, you may complete it in as little as four weeks or up to twelve weeks.

Here are some of the many topics covered: industry trends, starting a bakery business, writing a business plan, choosing a Specialty or niche, finding a bakery business name, budgeting and funding, interior and exterior design, daily operations and systems, managing inventory, accepting payment, hiring staff, and marketing.

Why We Like the Bakery Owner Certificate Course

  • An affordable way to learn the essential business and marketing skills required to start a bakery shop
  • This part-time online course can be finished in 4 to 12 weeks
  • Covers a wide range of topics in starting and managing a bakery business
  • Bakery Owner Certificate from the International Association of Professions Career College

Sign up here.

The Butter Book logo

The Butter Book – Online Video Recipes by Master Pastry Chefs

The Butter Book was started by world-renowned chefs Sébastien Canonne and Jacquy Pfeiffer, who founded The French Pastry School.

The Butter Book is an online baking platform with video recipes. Each recipe includes tips, terminology definitions, and step-by-step instructions.

The Butter Book website

The video tutorials range from basic to advanced, ranging from classic pastry and breadmaking to cake decorating.

What We Like About The Butter Book

  • The mobile-friendly layout makes it easy to use, and many of the recipes can be prepared in a short time
  • There are also curated recipe paths for more focused long term learning for people who want a pastry career
  • Quizzes to help your understanding of the recipes
  • Affordable prices: Yearly subscription is $199.99 or monthly for $24.99

Sign up here.

MasterClass logo

Masterclass – French Pastry Fundamentals with Dominique Ansel & Apollonia Poilâne Teaches Bread Baking

MasterClass is an educational platform that has hundreds of video lessons taught by many of the world’s best experts in various topics.

Masterclass - French Pastry Fundamentals with Dominique Ansel website screen

James Beard Award-winner Dominique Ansel is known for his creative spins on traditional desserts. This MasterClass teaches how to classic recipes to your repertoire, and experiment with texture and flavor ideas to develop your own innovative desserts.

The 17 lessons cover five recipes in-depth: mini madeleines, fruit tarts, chocolate cake, bonbons, and the perfect croissant.

Masterclass - Apollonia Poilâne Teaches Bread Baking website screen

Apollonia Poilâne is a third-generation baker and owner of the renowned Parisian bakery Poilâne.

In this course, Apollonia teaches you the pleasure of creating bread from scratch using her recipes and hands-on sessions. You’ll learn how to make your own starter and a slew of French bread, including rustic wheat, rye, and brioche.

Yearly membership with access to all of The Masterclass video courses starts at $180.

Sign up for MasterClass here.

Conclusion

There are a lot of online baking courses available today, which can help you learn how to make bread, cakes, and other types of pastry. For a bakery owner, it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends in the industry. Taking an online baking course can help to make you more knowledgeable and help your bakery business grow.

Finally, if you are considering opening a bakery the following posts might be of interest:

Photo of author
Jan Lundvik
Jan is a writer and content creator at KitchenBusiness.com with a focus on the restaurant and food service industry. Drawing from his background in tech and UX design, Jan breaks down complex systems into digestible, actionable insights.

We Help Restaurants Build A Thriving Business
Our free online education guides restaurants through practical technology upgrades, marketing strategies, and business operations fine-tuned for 2024 and beyond.

Company

Content Brand AB
Norrbackagatan 14.
SE-11341 Stockholm