Knead-to-know bread-making tips from B.C.'s reality TV baking champion

In the past few years, Andrei Godoroja has learned a lot about baking, and now he wants to share his tips.

When he joined season two of CBC's The Great Canadian Baking Show, he had never worked in a bakery or even taken a pastry course.

"My degree in engineering physics helped ...because I always want to know how things work," he toldEarly Editionhost Stephen Quinn, during an informal bread-making course in Godoroja's West End apartment.

Simple tips for making bread at home

Godoroja went on to win The Great Canadian Baking Show, and he has some simple tips to share for anyone making bread at home:

• Mix all ofthe dry ingredients together first.
• Don't let the yeast sit in salty water too long.
• Start with wet dough.

He's learned that whisking all of the dry ingredients together first helps distribute everything. Leaving yeast to sit in salty water slows theprocess down, reducing the chances of the loaf rising successfully.

Godoroja says baking often involves trial and error.

"Recipes are often bogus. You have to find out how to do it correctly," he said.

One common mistake Godoroja sees beginners make, is leaving dough too dry, because it's easier to handle.
"The more you knead, the less sticky it will get. Sometime it will start by sticking all over your hands. But it will start coming off," he said.

Life after The Great Canadian Baking Show

His stint on television has changed Godoroja's life. "I'm doing more baking than working. I should probably get more serious about my software engineering career," he said.

Aside from baking and computer engineering, Godoroja is also an amateur astronomer, skier,and sailor.

AlongwithBruno Feldeisen, host of The Great Canadian Baking Show, Godoroja has offered in-home bread making workshops as charity auction prizes.

For some lucky bread makers, those workshops come with lunch, and a show.

"I'm actually a trained opera singer as well," he said.

Listen to the full interview, and a sample of his opera singinghere: