Bake & Pray Training + Licensing
Are you interested in leading Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, and retreat centers near you? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Blending baking science and technique with theological reflection, the Bake & Pray™ method teaches participants how to incorporate bread-making into the rhythms of their busy lives. Whether lifelong bakers or intimidated by the thought of yeast, participants will step away from each workshop with a practical understanding of how to bake bread and a deep appreciation for the ways God can shape them in the process.
After attending a 3-day training, you will be licensed to lead Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, homes, and retreat centers near you.
Are you interested in leading Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, and retreat centers near you? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Blending baking science and technique with theological reflection, the Bake & Pray™ method teaches participants how to incorporate bread-making into the rhythms of their busy lives. Whether lifelong bakers or intimidated by the thought of yeast, participants will step away from each workshop with a practical understanding of how to bake bread and a deep appreciation for the ways God can shape them in the process.
After attending a 3-day training, you will be licensed to lead Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, homes, and retreat centers near you.
Are you interested in leading Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, and retreat centers near you? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Blending baking science and technique with theological reflection, the Bake & Pray™ method teaches participants how to incorporate bread-making into the rhythms of their busy lives. Whether lifelong bakers or intimidated by the thought of yeast, participants will step away from each workshop with a practical understanding of how to bake bread and a deep appreciation for the ways God can shape them in the process.
After attending a 3-day training, you will be licensed to lead Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, schools, homes, and retreat centers near you.
What To Expect:
Arrive to Kendall’s home in Durham, North Carolina, between 12-1 pm on Day 1 of the training for the training kick-off. The first day will be devoted to learning more about one another and the philosophy behind the Bake & Pray™ method. We’ll check in to our lodging in the late afternoon before heading out to a dinner prepared by one of Kendall’s chef friends.
Day 2 will be focused on the nuts and bolts of leading a workshop. After breakfast and morning prayer at Kendall’s home bakery, Kendall will offer a sample Bake & Pray™ workshop. We’ll debrief the workshop over a lunch catered by another beloved Durham restaurant before a time of rest (rest is one of the central tenants of the Bake & Pray™ method!). The late afternoon session will focus on the business side of running your Bake & Pray™ workshops. Kendall will walk you through everything you need to know, including a step-by-step blueprint for booking, planning, and hosting Bake & Pray™ workshops in churches, bakeries, schools, and homes in your area. You'll finish the training fully prepared to launch your own workshop teaching business.
Day 3 will include a final Q&A session for any lingering questions the group has about the Bake & Pray™ program, before ending with an individual and group practicum to evaluate comprehension and confidence in the material. The program will end at noon, with an option to go out for a group lunch afterwards.
Participants at a recent Bake & Pray retreat proud of their final loaves!
The initial training comes with a one year license that will give you:
permission to use the Bake & Pray™ name and branding
a significant discount on books for resale at workshops
a directory listing on Kendall’s website that will point local potential workshop hosts to you
access to a digital community of Bake & Pray™ teachers to ask questions, troubleshoot concerns, and learn from one another how to meet your workshop teaching goals
The $500 annual licensing fee will allow you to maintain your license in future years.
Who is this training for?
This training is for professional bakers, bakery owners, and advanced home bakers that are interested in teaching Bake & Pray™ workshops in their area. We will provide you with everything you need to launch your own workshop-teaching business. It’s your choice where and how often you’d like to teach.
Are you a bread-loving pastor that wants to teach workshops in churches throughout your denomination? That’s great!
Are you a bakery owner who wants to offer workshops to your local community? We love that!
Are you a professional baker looking to build a career that’s a bit less physically taxing than full-time production? We completely understand (in fact, that’s how Kendall started developing this program in the first place).
We welcome your creativity in how and where you offer workshops.
We do encourage those who seek out this training and licensing to be knowledgeable about the science of bread baking. While the training materials will provide a workshop script and lots of scientific explanation, we want you to feel confident answering questions and helping participants troubleshoot their baking woes.
Is there any prep work required before the training?
We ask that you have read the Introduction, Part I, and Part II of Bake & Pray: Liturgies and Recipes for Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice before the training begins. This will provide an overview of the method, as well as the theology and philosophy behind it. Bake & Pray releases October 8—you can pre-order the book now to have it in hand on release day or ask your local library to carry it.
a neighborhood bake sale showing off the location of the Bread Shed!
What is covered in the training fee?
Your training fee covers all training content, a one year license, and food and lodging here in Durham during the training. The group will be staying at an apartment-style rental 10 minutes from Kendall’s home, with two people per two-bedroom/one-bathroom apartment. If you do not have a car, we will provide transportation as well. Meals covered include Day 1 dinner out (you may purchase drinks separately), Day 2 breakfast, catered lunch, and dinner, and Day 3 breakfast, as well as snacks throughout the training. The optional group lunch on Day 3 is not covered by the training fee.
The training itself will be held at Kendall’s home (ideally in the Bread Shed that is currently under construction, if it is finished in time!). It is limited to just 8 participants to ensure that everyone is able to thoroughly engage the material and have plenty of space to ask questions of Kendall. During our down time, you’ll be able to enjoy all that Kendall’s beloved neighborhood has to offer, including walking trails, a neighborhood coffee cart, and more.
If you are flying, you’ll want to fly into RDU airport, which is about 20 minutes from Kendall’s home. You are responsible for transportation to and from RDU. We recommend using Uber or Lyft, which is very simple and affordable from the airport.
PAYMENT PLAN
We are happy to offer a payment plan to help make the Bake & Pray™ training more accessible to you!
If you would like to pay for your training through the payment plan rather than in a single payment, please enter code PAYMENTPLAN at checkout. With this code, you will be charged $500 at checkout, which is a non-refundable deposit for the training. You will be invoiced through PayPal for two more installments of $500 each. We will send one reminder per payment; after that any missed payments will result in forfeiting your position in the training.
Invoice Dates for the November Training:
September 1, invoice sent. September 14, payment 2 due.
November 1, invoice sent. November 12, payment 3 due.
Invoice Dates for the January Training:
October 1, invoice sent. October 14, payment 2 due.
January 1, invoice sent. January 14, payment 3 due (we can send the invoice in December upon request if you would prefer to keep all payments in the same calendar year).
About Your Host:
Kendall Vanderslice is a baker, writer, and the creator of Edible Theology.
A graduate of Duke Divinity School (Master of Theological Studies), Boston University (MLA Gastronomy), and Wheaton College (BA Anthropology), she has committed her life to the study of food and community formation.
Kendall is a professionally trained baker, having learned from several top American pastry chefs. In 2018, she was named a James Beard Foundation national scholar for her work bridging food and religion.
She is the author of We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God and By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God. Her next book, Bake & Pray: Liturgies and Recipes for Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice, releases October 8 (just in time for this retreat!). She speaks regularly at churches, colleges, and universities around North America.
Her writing appears in Christianity Today, Christian Century, Faith & Leadership, and Religion News Service.
