Here's something to dough: Igor Dernov brought his love of baking from Uzbekistan to Albuquerque

Igor Dernov doesn’t let challenges stand in the way of making progress.

Over the course of his life, he’s remained diligent and overcome many.

His latest challenge is one that has taken time — and plenty of patience.

The Albuquerque resident constructed a brick oven in his backyard.

Here's something to dough: Igor Dernov brought his love of cooking from Uzbekistan to Albuquerque

This is where he spends his weekends, perfecting his own recipes with entrees and baking.

“It’s been a lot of trial and error,” Dernov says with a grin. “It’s definitely been a journey to get to this point.”

Dernov, 46, offers baguette making classes twice a month under his business Sherwood Coffee ’n’ Bread.

Over the course of the last few months, his two-hour classes have sold out and remain intimate with less than a dozen people in each class. His next class will be held on Aug. 24, and information can be found at sherwood.coffee.

Growing up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dernov didn’t have a lot and learned to make the most with what he had.

Each September in Uzbekistan, Dernov and his family would go to the flea market.

On the list — sacks of potatoes, flour, rice and onions.

This would be the food the family would use during the winter months and storing it correctly was of the utmost importance.

Dernov recalls neighbors at that time who would use their garden to store perishables such as fruits and vegetables.

“We didn’t have refrigerators,” he says. “They would bury the food and cover it with dirt.”

With his mother working 24-hour shifts, Dernov was left to fend for himself.

“You want to eat, you have to cook,” he says stoically. “We didn’t have the internet nor cookbooks. So I decided to start making up recipes and make food for my mother. It was a constant state of experiment for me.”

By 14, he began working in a kitchen, mopping floors and washing dishes, all while lending a hand wherever he could.

At 18, he’d moved up to sous-chef, covering for the chef when he was away.

At 19, he soon realized that computers were the way to go in order to support a family and became educated in information technology.

He moved to the United States — specifically Albuquerque — in 2004 and this is where he began to plant roots.

Prior to moving to Albuquerque, cooking filled his heart.

In Albuquerque, he knew that cooking would have to be placed on the backburner, as he got a job with the Moriarty-Edgewood School District working in IT.

During his commute with a co-worker, he would listen to KKOB radio.

“These were my lessons in English,” he says. “Listening to the radio was perfect because the disc jockeys annunciate really well. They spoke clearly and slowly so that I would understand.”

Soon after he got a job with Bernalillo County, where he still is today.

While working within the tech world, Dernov has never really given up on his love for the culinary world.

Opening Sherwood Coffee ’n’ Bread, he visualizes a future where he would offer locals and tourists opportunities to learn about both worlds.

His presence continues to grow online as one of his YouTube videos where he made “Samosas with Broccoli,” and it currently has 6.7 million views.

“It’s in Russian,” Dernov explains. “I also have a video on how to make your own ‘French Press Coffee’ and that has 5.7 million views. That one is in English.”

Through his video presence online, Dernov has been able to connect with a worldwide audience — and he wants to bring an in-person audience to Albuquerque.

“What I’ve learned is that people feel emotions through the camera,” he says. “This is what I learned by making those videos. For the bread videos, I spent six months trying to get the recipe right. I remember the structure of the dough from when I was young when I tried to replicate it.”

Dernov offers the classes twice a month because it takes time to work with the wood oven.

It takes two days to fire the oven.

Because of the time element, Dernov plans food for the entire week because the temperature has to be correct.

“To make the bread, it has to be at 475 degrees,” he says. “When I start the oven, there’s a very big thermal mass. There are many bricks and the bottom floor is 42-inch in diameter. The bricks begin to absorb the heat. It takes about two full hours to fire and I have to prime it the day before. I start the small fire inside the day before the baking and that would only get me to 400 degrees, which isn’t enough to bake. So I get the full fire going and it’s at 1,200 degrees.”

It’s during this time, Dernov has learned to master cooking.

He will make pizzas when the temperature is around 700 degrees – with the door open.

“The challenge is maintaining the fire,” he says. “If you keep the door open, the heat will escape and will lose about 50 degrees every 15 minutes.”

The magic moment comes when the oven hits 475 degrees and the bread can be put in.

Prior to that, Dernov and his class will be busy making the dough for the baguettes.

During each class, visitors will be able to learn how to mix and knead dough for the perfect texture.

The class will also teach shaping techniques to create the baguettes, as well as learning some tips in getting crispy crust with a soft interior.

“The class is created for anyone from a beginner to an experienced baker,” Dernov says. “It’s supposed to be fun, educational and rewarding. And you get to take home the baguettes.”

On July 31, Dernov’s classes were featured on TripAdvisor — which is one goal reached.

“I want to be able to offer the community a place where they can learn something new,” he says. “The support I’ve had to get to this milestone has been amazing.”