Kneading Conference 2010

From seed to loaf…How do we get there from here?

Bakers from all over the country joined together with millers, grain growers, and experts in soil and sustainable farming practices last month for the 2010 Kneading Conference held in Skowhegan, Maine. We were honored to take part, arriving each day as the sun was rising to fire up our Le Panyol wood fired ovens.

Over the past four years, we’ve seen the conference stem from a small passionate group of oven builders, bakers and local innovators, to an event that has gained national recognition.

Like a fine loaf of artisan bread, this year’s presenters, attendees and volunteers, yet again, rose to the occasion. Providing their own expertise, enthusiasm and open minds to make connections and close the gaps in our local food systems from the ground up.

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QUIMBY FAMILY FOUNDATION GRANT

August 2, 2010:  Super news! The Kneading Conference has been awarded a major grant by the Quimby Family Foundation in the amount of $48,000.  The letter from Hannah Quimby announcing the Foundation’s generous decision stated that Heart of Maine Resource, Conservation & Development (the fiscal sponsor and bloodline to the Kneading Conference and Maine Artisan Bread Fair) was selected to receive funding because “your goals and mission most closely align with our foundation’s funding goals.  We are truly inspired by the work that you have been doing in the state of Maine.”

The funds will be used to expand the educational programs offered by the Kneading Conference.  With this wonderful gift the steering committee will build a portable baking kitchen and commercial scale portable wood-fired masonry oven.  When not in use, the oven will be housed under its soon-to-be-constructed shelter at the Somerset Grist Mill in Skowhegan where it can be used for fundraisers and community events.  The new portable baking kitchen will afford the Kneading Conference the opportunity to take hands-on bread workshops to school children and to areas in Maine beyond Somerset County.

Dusty Dowse, director of the Maine Artisan Bread Fair, responded to the news (once he had calmed down) by stating that “the overarching goals of the Kneading Conference and Maine Artisan Bread Fair are to inform and excite people about returning Maine to a grain producing state, a position it enjoyed in the past, and to show the employment possibilities in small grain farming and artisan baking.”

We invite you to watch for the oven rumbling down the road toward your town! Please join in the kneading and help us invigorate new possibilities and old traditions in the communities of Maine.
If you would like to set up a bread-making demonstration in your school or community, or you would like to become involved as a volunteer, please contact wendyhebb@roadrunner.com.

At the 2010 KNEADING Conference

I was struck by the profound convergence of topics that make the Kneading Conference timely. A reporter commented that it seems the event is more than just a baking conference, you get to hear about philosophies of baking and farming too. Indeed, from Fred Kirschenman’s introduction about the importance of building healthy soils to heal the earth, reverse damaging climate trends and grow healthy crops, to Jeffrey Hamelman’saddress reminding us the importance of crafting bread with our hands, the real food revolution was never more apparent than at the Kneading Conference this year. I feel so fortunate to be living at a time when the world is reawakening to the importance of real food grown nearby, including real bread, and grains grown and milled locally.
~Amber Lambke, Chair