For the last 10 years, the Maine Grain Alliance’s annual Kneading Conference has drawn hundreds of grain and bread enthusiasts each year to Skowhegan for two days in July. The attendees come from different skillsets and places near and far.
But this year, for the 11th annual Kneading Conference, the Maine Grain Alliance is hoping to harness the international aspect that has grown organically around the conference into a series of speakers and how-tos to highlight the grain conversation that is happening across the globe.
“This is a really exciting conference for a number of reasons. The conference has always brought together a diverse community of amateur and professional bakers, millers, brewsters, maltsters, but this year we have a specific sort of international flare and flavor to the conference,” said Maine Grain Alliance executive director Tristan Noyes.
This year the two-day conference will be held July 27 and 28 in Skowhegan. The conference is open to amateurs and professionals, and features hands-on workshops as well as lectures and panels on everything grain-related, from the production of grain to its various uses. While the conference itself carries a $325 registration cost, the event is followed by the Maine Artisan Bread Fair on July 29, which is free and open to the public, and will also feature numerous demonstrations.
Food and wine writer Francis Percival kicks off this year’s Kneading Conference with a keynote address focusing on the impact that food clusters have across industries. Percival is a London-based writer for The World of Fine Wine, and will be discussing how the industries that revolve around foods like cheese as well as wine have grown and relating those industries to the ones popping up around grain.
“In his expert work across wine and cheese, he sees the similarities with grain and thinks that it’s on the same track,” Noyes said.
In its mission to bolster Maine’s grain economy, the Maine Grain Alliance has worked to bring together the wide range of farmers, food makers and businesses that are growing and using grain. Their success in doing so is evident with the Kneading Conferences lineup, which has the conference’s staple oven-making how-to’s and technical bread baking workshops. In one of this year’s several oven-making workshops, David S. Cargo, a German baker, will be giving instruction on how to build ― and bake in ― a portable brick oven. Another new baking event this year is a production track pastry workshop.
While in past years, brewing with Maine-grown grain has been the topic of panel discussions at the conference, this year’s attendees will have the opportunity to brew beer themselves. Portland-based Allagash Brewing Company will be hosting a workshop on making your own pilot brew. Noyes said the opportunity to brew with a company that is increasing its dedication to using locally grown grain in their brewing practices will be “one of the most satisfying brewing experiences,” especially since Allagash will come prepared with a brew that they have already finished for workshop goers to try after they complete their own brew.
Stephanie Swane, of Modernist Cuisine, will be presenting Friday’s keynote address. As the editorial director of Modernist Cuisine’s publishing department, The Cooking Lab, Noyes said Swane has helped Modernist Cuisine to publish the most comprehensive writing on grain and bread, including a new book due out this year titled “Modernist Bread.” In her address, Swane will discuss the topics she investigated while writing her upcoming book, including bread myths and equipment advice.
Other talks and events at this year’s conference will focus around small-scale grain milling, preserving native varieties of flint corn, as well as a workshop on pairing toppings for different breads.
By having a wide range of topics covered in presentations and workshops put on by industry experts who come from varying backgrounds, Noyes is hopeful that this year’s conference conveys the strides the Maine Grain Alliance has made through bringing the grain community to Skowhegan year after year.
“The message is that we’ve made incredible strides just by connecting and carving out this sort of special space to share ideas and learn from one another, connecting businesses and different professions,” he said.