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Baking with Local Grains (3-Part Class)


This is a 3-part class with the following schedule:

Monday October 19th, 4pm - 5pm

Monday October 26th, 4pm - 5pm

Monday November 2nd, 4pm - 5pm

Part 1: Sourcing your Local Grains

In the first part of this series, Chloe Newman (from Crustworthy LLC) and Lori Sands (Going with the Grain Bakery) will team up with Cristina Law (MA Food Studies Candidate specializing in local grains) to talk about the successes and challenges with sourcing local grains in the Southwest Pennsylvania region. They will discuss the differences between stone ground flour vs. roller milled flour, what types and varieties of grains are available in this region, sourcing and distribution information, and more. Local mills will be highlighted and favorite flours shared.

Participants will leave with an understanding of where to source local grains and what flours are the baker favorites.

Part 2: Baking with Local Grains

This second workshop builds on the first and puts into action what you learned about where to source different types of local grains. Chloe and Lori will talk more about what they have noticed in using different mills’ flours and compare side by side the differences each makes in bread and baked products. The bakers will offer some of their favorite recipes for you to try at home, and gain a better understanding of what it’s like to work with these products.

Participants will leave with an understanding of how to use flours to your advantage and make the best product possible with what you buy from each mill.

Part 3: Troubleshooting your Recipes

Baking with flours and grains that are grown on a small scale can be a challenge! This workshop will help you learn how to troubleshoot your recipes for the nuances that can be found in locally sourced grain products. You’ll also hear from the bakers about some of their tried and true methods for adapting recipes to use locally available grains, and their process for recipe development based on what’s available seasonally. Working with what we have noticed as a group, we will have an open discussion to learn from each other as bakers.

Participants will leave with an understanding of the challenges of using local flours and the adaptations one might need to make while using them. 


If you'd like to pay for this event with cash or check, please email craft@chatham.edu or call 412-365-1118.

Refunds will be issued up to 48 hours before the class.

Chatham Alumni receive a 10% discount! Use code ALUMNI at checkout.

Instructor: Chloe J Newman

Chloe first fell in love with sourdough baking in 2016, although she’s always had a deep connection to cooking and the community of food. Naturally-leavened bread has become a strong expression of her overlapping backgrounds in visual art and organic life sciences, as well as her more recent studies in sustainability and local food systems.
In January 2019, Chloe became the founder and baker of Crust Worthy, a small-scale, community-supported baking operation, providing organic-grain, hand-crafted, naturally-leavened bread and specialty baked goods to local areas in Pittsburgh, PA. This winter she'll be a Maker in Residence for Chatham’s Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation (CRAFT) where she can continue to develop her craft, expand her business, and engage her communities with sustainable baking.

Instructor: Lori Sands

Baker Lori Sands has been baking, sharing and selling breads since 1981, when she made her first loaf of 'white sandwich bread' from a recipe in Joy of Cooking. The amazing alchemy of flour, water, salt and yeast became an ongoing obsession, culminating in serious study and training with renowned bakers Stefan Senders of Wide Awake Bakery in Trumansburg NY, Jeffrey Hamelman of King Arthur Flour in VT, andCecile Piot of Pain, Partage et Fantaisie in Mantes-la-Jolie, France.

Lori now owns Going with the Grain Bakery in Harrisville, PA, and at her bakery they know that you care about where your bread comes from, who grew the flour, and how your bread was made. The small batch, long-fermented bakes ensure the highest quality and flavor. Local flours and grains contribute fresher flavors and aromas and also retain more nutrition in each loaf.

Simple ingredients+

hand crafted techniques =

Real Bread.

Earlier Event: October 18
Baking Troubleshooting