David Katz
About
Hi, I’m David Katz, an artisan baker and teacher from Israel.
I ran my own bakery for over ten years, where I baked daily and trained new bakers in the craft of naturally leavened bread.
My lessons are relaxed and hands-on, focused on helping you understand how dough works — not just follow steps. Together we’ll build starters, master fermentation, and bake loaves that look, taste, and feel alive.
Simple ingredients, solid principles, and real bread — that’s what we’ll make together.
Teaching Style
My approach is personal and patient. I guide each student from their very first starter through every stage of learning until they can bake confidently on their own. Every baker is different, and I adapt the pace and focus to each person’s goals and kitchen. I’ve taught many students virtually, helping them grow step by step — developing their intuition, confidence, and feel for the dough. My goal is to walk alongside you until you can fly solo, baking with skill and joy.
Curriculum
We will start by "doing" and then learning though discussion what happened and why... More doing more theory - whatever is most helpful to get to that 1st loaf! Happy to continue and move to the next level when you are ready. Here is a list of some basic tools. I'm going for super simple - of course you can get more sophisticated tools -, but the main asset here is you! I've listed necessary and optional.
Necessary:
- A small bowl or jar with a breathable cover for your starter
- Tablespoon for mixing
- A large mixing bowl (or a mixer)
- Whole-wheat and white bread flour
- A smooth piece of fabric
- A basket the size of a loaf or a loaf pan
- Baking tray
- Sharp blade for scoring
- Shallow pan that can go into the oven (baking tray is fine)
- An oven
Optional:
- Baker's linen or proofing basket
- Lame
Credentials & Affiliations
David Katz is an educator, program director, and entrepreneur whose work blends learning, creativity, and community. He comes to leadership through education, having taught and developed programs that make learning tangible and personal. Over the course of his career, he has guided many students , designed interdisciplinary curricula, and built initiatives that bring knowledge and discovery to life through hands-on experience.
As founder of Pat BaMelach Bakery in Efrat (2015–2022), David created a national artisan sourdough brand that also served as a center for educational workshops , agriculture, and food culture. Earlier, he taught at Fuchs Mizrachi School in Cleveland, developing experiential projects that connected text, history, and identity, and at Yeshivat Nachshon, where he served as a homeroom teacher and enrichment leader for middle-school students.
David holds an accredited teacher degree from Yaakov Herzog College, did his graduate work at Hebrew University’s Melton School of Education, and a B.A. in Psychology from Yeshiva University. He completed a Farm-to-Table course at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens focused on sustainability and nutrition. His skills span program development, experiential education, mentorship, partnership building, and community engagement in both English and Hebrew.
Grounded in warmth and authenticity, Rabbi Katz’s work reflects a lifelong commitment to bringing people closer to Jewish learning, heritage, and shared experience.