Small Group Workshop: Easter Baking the Balkan Way with Irina Janakievska

Part classroom, part playground and all kitchen, Christopher Kimball's Milk Street is the place to learn to change the way you cook. Our Small Group Workshops give you personalized attention from Milk Street instructors, staff, recipe developers and special guest chefs from all over the world. In these small classes - capped at just 25 attendees - you'll get your questions answered in real time, take on culinary experiments and tastings, brainstorm new applications of the skills you learn and problem solve together with other students. These are the events for you if you want to really understand the whys of cooking - not just the hows.During our Small Group Workshops, you can ask questions of the teachers and other students and cook along (if you like). After the session, you will receive a recording of the workshop, plus a folder with recipes and links to other materials.Limited space available per workshop. Sign up now!

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Irina Janakievska returns to show you the baking techniques you need to enjoy a true Balkan Easter.

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Small Group Workshops

Capped at just 25 students, our Small Group Workshops are where you go to take your cooking to the next level. Whether it's a deep-dive into Milk Street's cooking theory or a sushi intensive, our Workshops are packed with knowledge, creativity and fun.

NOTE: iphone and ipad users,<a href="https://eventbrite.oldmanhustle.net/checkout-external?eid=1982736429033" title="https://eventbrite.oldmanhustle.net/checkout-external?eid=1980395157226" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> CLICK HERE </a>to register for class. What’s on the Menu: Milibrod (Balkan Easter Bread) Two Ways Oven Apricot Jam If you joined us for Irina Janakievska's recent Milk Street class, you already know that the Balkans are a culinary melting pot where centuries of migration and cultural exchange have created a diverse and deeply rooted cuisine. Now, Irina is back for a small group workshop focused on a cornerstone of Balkan baking tradition: Easter. You'll learn to make milibrod, an enriched bread that shares DNA with Austrian streizel and Jewish challah but has a character all its own. You'll make a versatile yeasted dough that can be shaped in countless ways, then learn two distinct techniques for filling and forming it. First, you'll prepare a poppy seed filling that gets cooked with milk and sugar until it reaches just the right spreadability, then practice the admittedly tricky—but rewarding!—art of twisting the dough into figure-eight buns. Irina will patiently walk you through the stretching, twisting and knotting, showing you what to do when the dough resists and reassuring you that even imperfect shapes bake beautifully. For your second shaping method, you'll roll the dough around apricot đzem—a chunky, not-too-sweet jam that Irina makes using an oven method that requires less sugar and adds a hint of caramelization. You'll learn why this style of preserve differs from smooth Western jams and how the moisture content affects your final bake. Join us to explore the flavors and techniques of the Balkan Easter table. Get 10% off your copy of “The Balkan Kitchen” with code MILK2026: <a href="https://portersquarebooks.com/book/9781784886851" title="https://portersquarebooks.com/book/9781784886851" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://portersquarebooks.com/book/9781784886851</a> About Irina: Irina Janakievska is an award-winning Macedonian-British author. Irina was born in Skopje, North Macedonia (then one of the republics of former Yugoslavia) but grew up in Kuwait from the late 1980s onwards before moving to the United Kingdom in 2001 to complete her undergraduate and masters studies at the London School of Economics. Irina left a successful career in corporate and finance law to follow her passion for sharing her love of Balkan cuisine and completed her culinary training at Leiths School of Food and Wine. The Balkan Kitchen is her debut cookbook and it has won a prestigious James Beard Award (International category, 2025), a British Library Food Season Narrative Cookery Book Award (2025) and a Special Jury Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (2025). The book was shortlisted for the Jane Grigson Trust Award (2023) and the Fortnum &amp; Mason Debut Cookery Book Award (2025). It was also featured as one of Saveur's Best Cookbooks of 2024, and on Nigella Lawson's Cookbook Corner. Irina has contributed to the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, National Geographic, Olive Magazine, Foodnetwork US, Whetstone Magazine, and Pit Magazine, among others. She has featured on BBC Woman's Hour, BBC Radio London and Times Radio discussing Balkan cuisine. She lives in south London, with her husband and young son, cooking, researching and writing about Balkan history, food culture and culinary traditions. Our small-group Workshops are capped at just 25 attendees and are distinct from our livestream Classes. As such, they are NOT included with Insider membership.Want to give this class as a gift? You can purchase gift cards <a href="https://www.177milkstreet.com/school/gift-cards" title="https://www.177milkstreet.com/school/gift-cards" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.Immediately after registering, you will get a confirmation email that contains the Zoom meeting log-in information. One week prior to the class (or within 48 hours, if you register less than one week in advance), you will receive instructions on how to prepare ingredients and equipment in order to cook along with us.After class, you will receive a recording of the event, as well as a packet with recipes and resources that we discuss during the event. If you have any questions about this class, please don't hesitate to get in touch via cookingschool@177milkstreet.com.This event has limited spots, and you must register in advance via Eventbrite. One sign-up covers one device. Closed Captioning is available for this event.Payments for Milk Street livestream workshops are non-refundable. If you find yourself unable to attend, you may transfer the ticket to someone else, but we are unable to refund fees and all payments are final.Proceeds from live stream cooking classes and workshops support Milk Street's non-profit work with The Big Sisters Association of Great Boston, The Boys &amp; Girls Club of Dorchester, and other partners.Bonus: All attendees of this class will receive a one-time 20% off coupon to the <a href="https://store.177milkstreet.com/" title="https://store.177milkstreet.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Milk Street Store</a> after class.

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Small Group Workshop: Easter Baking the Balkan Way with Irina Janakievska

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Small Group Workshop: Easter Baking the Balkan Way with Irina Janakievska

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