We have two ticket options for this year’s Grain Gathering:
Full Event (July 19 afternoon, July 20 full day+, July 21 morning)
and
Community Party (July 20 evening).
Ticketing will go live on May 19, 2026 at 10am pacific time.
The Full Event option includes all the demonstrations, panels, keynotes, and meals over the three days, the Community Party, and participation in one Masterclass, an immersive workshop with 20 or fewer people.
The Community Party will take place on the evening of July 20th and will include a keynote, live music, and a tasting-style meal with chefs from across the Pacific Northwest.
Community Party Tickets, $40/person
This is a great option for people who want to participate in the Grain Gathering without a three-day commitment. The Community Party will kick off with a Keynote speech and will feature a tasting-style meal with a variety of grain-based dishes from chefs across the Pacific Northwest. There will be live music and beer and cider for sale from our friends at Chuckanut Brewery. Kids 12 years and under are free.
Full Event Tickets, $375/person
Each Full Event ticket is tied to a Masterclass, which are sessions ranging from 1.5 hours to 3 hours where you will learn in a more intimate, immersive setting with 20 or fewer people. When ticket sales go live at 10am on May 19, 2026, select your Masterclass from the options below and click on the link. This will take you to the Grain Gathering store where you will purchase your ticket. Completing your sale will register you for the full, 3-day event and your chosen Masterclass. There will be 20 tickets available for each Masterclass. Once that class is filled, that ticket option will be closed out and you must try another Masterclass. There is a limit of 4 Full Event tickets per order.
Baking in a Wood-Fired Oven
Join Richard Miscovich for a thorough exploration of how wood-fired ovens work and ways to prepare a variety of grain-based foods infused with live fire and retained heat. In this interactive baking demonstration, we’ll discuss how the density and amount of thermal mass and insulation influence your experience at the hearth. An exploration of fuel selection, firing schedules and the wide range of temperature windows will help you understand how to get the most out of your oven. We’ll cover how to control fermentation and ways to have that multi-faceted process dovetail with the satisfying practice of baking in a wood-fired oven. This class is designed to be interactive; come with your questions.
Richard Miscovich teaches bread baking and café cuisine to students in the College of Food Technology & Innovation at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and to home and professional bakers at classes and conferences around the country. He served on the Board of Directors of The Bread Bakers Guild of America from 2006 to 2011. He is the author of ‘From The Wood-Fired Oven’ and instructs the online Craftsy course, Handmade Sourdough: From Starter to Baked Loaf.
Richard Miscovich teaches bread baking and café cuisine to students in the College of Food Technology & Innovation at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and to home and professional bakers at classes and conferences around the country. He served on the Board of Directors of The Bread Bakers Guild of America from 2006 to 2011. He is the author of ‘From The Wood-Fired Oven’ and instructs the online Craftsy course, Handmade Sourdough: From Starter to Baked Loaf.
Making the Most of Vegetables On and Whole Grains In Pizza
Sarah Minnick is a renowned chef, artist, and the visionary behind Portland’s celebrated pizzeria Lovely’s Fifty Fifty. Famed for her innovative, hyper-seasonal pizzas and house-made ice creams, Sarah brings a unique, intuitive approach to cooking, often incorporating foraged ingredients from Oregon’s wild landscapes. Her work has earned national acclaim, including a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific.
Sarah’s distinctive take on pizza has been featured in major publications like The New York Times and Bon Appétit, and she gained wider recognition through her appearance on the hit Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza, where she shared her creative process and deep connection to the Pacific Northwest’s natural bounty. At Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, Sarah continues to push the boundaries of what pizza can be, blending artistry, seasonality, and a deep respect for local ingredients.
Darby Aldaco is the chef and co-owner of Pizza Thief, a Portland pizzeria known for its naturally leavened, whole-grain pizza dough and ingredient-driven pies. A baker and pizza maker by training, Aldaco previously worked in Los Angeles as Pastry Chef at Proof Bakery, Executive Chef for Triple Beam Pizza, and later served as bakery manager at Bub and Grandma’s Bread.
Sarah’s distinctive take on pizza has been featured in major publications like The New York Times and Bon Appétit, and she gained wider recognition through her appearance on the hit Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza, where she shared her creative process and deep connection to the Pacific Northwest’s natural bounty. At Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, Sarah continues to push the boundaries of what pizza can be, blending artistry, seasonality, and a deep respect for local ingredients.
Darby Aldaco is the chef and co-owner of Pizza Thief, a Portland pizzeria known for its naturally leavened, whole-grain pizza dough and ingredient-driven pies. A baker and pizza maker by training, Aldaco previously worked in Los Angeles as Pastry Chef at Proof Bakery, Executive Chef for Triple Beam Pizza, and later served as bakery manager at Bub and Grandma’s Bread.
Stone Milling Intensive with Andrew Heyn of New American Stone Mills and Amrita Rey of the Northern Crops Institute
Andrew and Amrita will provide an interactive learning experience that brings traditional milling to life. Explore the fundamentals of stone milling, gain practical insights through live demonstrations, and engage directly with experts to get your questions answered. Ideal for millers, bakers, and anyone interested in grain processing and quality.
Dr. Amrita Ray is a food scientist with experience in grain processing, milling, flour quality, and product applications. Her work focuses on value addition to grains and legumes through innovative approaches, with particular emphasis on stone milling to enhance functionality, nutrition, and sustainability. Her expertise spans rheology, shelf-life extension, wellness foods, and micronutrient fortification, with product development experience in bakery and extruded foods. Dr. Ray has developed and successfully transferred industry-oriented technologies, consistently bridging scientific research with practical applications.
With a strong interest in both traditional and modern milling systems, she offers valuable insights into the role of stone milling in improving flour quality and supporting resilient grain systems.
New American Stone Mills is the brainchild of Andrew Heyn, co-owned with his wife, Blair Marvin, of Elmore Mountain Bread in Elmore, Vermont, USA.
Andrew began building mills out of necessity. He and Blair wanted to ensure that Elmore Mountain Bread could use fresh-milled, locally-sourced grain in all of their loaves. They sought to create bread that connected the land, the farmer, the baker, and the community.
Andrew spent months researching, reimagining, designing, and building a new breed of stone mill: one that uses locally quarried Vermont granite to grind grain that keeps its nutritional properties and unique flavor of place. The new mill would feature commonly available motors and mechanical parts for ease of maintenance.
Today, these mills reflect the insights and expertise gained from decades of working with stone mills in bakery settings, using the highest quality materials and processes to create functional and beautiful stone mills.
Dr. Amrita Ray is a food scientist with experience in grain processing, milling, flour quality, and product applications. Her work focuses on value addition to grains and legumes through innovative approaches, with particular emphasis on stone milling to enhance functionality, nutrition, and sustainability. Her expertise spans rheology, shelf-life extension, wellness foods, and micronutrient fortification, with product development experience in bakery and extruded foods. Dr. Ray has developed and successfully transferred industry-oriented technologies, consistently bridging scientific research with practical applications.
With a strong interest in both traditional and modern milling systems, she offers valuable insights into the role of stone milling in improving flour quality and supporting resilient grain systems.
New American Stone Mills is the brainchild of Andrew Heyn, co-owned with his wife, Blair Marvin, of Elmore Mountain Bread in Elmore, Vermont, USA.
Andrew began building mills out of necessity. He and Blair wanted to ensure that Elmore Mountain Bread could use fresh-milled, locally-sourced grain in all of their loaves. They sought to create bread that connected the land, the farmer, the baker, and the community.
Andrew spent months researching, reimagining, designing, and building a new breed of stone mill: one that uses locally quarried Vermont granite to grind grain that keeps its nutritional properties and unique flavor of place. The new mill would feature commonly available motors and mechanical parts for ease of maintenance.
Today, these mills reflect the insights and expertise gained from decades of working with stone mills in bakery settings, using the highest quality materials and processes to create functional and beautiful stone mills.
Spelt and Buckwheat Miche with Jeffrey Hamelman
In this class, we will all make loaves of Spelt and Buckwheat Miche. We will use two distinct methods of production: using overnight-retarded bulk dough and dividing, shaping, and baking the loaves during class; and using dough mixed during class, then dividing and shaping loaves after bulk fermentation, and retarding the shaped loaves overnight, for baking the following day.
Jeffrey Hamelman began baking at 6:00 AM, Wednesday, September 1, 1976. At 6:02 to knew this was the work he wanted to do. He is the author of BREAD: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes. His sourdough culture has brought him to six continents to bake and to teach. He now shares his knowledge and decades-long commitment to baking by teaching bakers around the world, and loves the opportunities this affords him to learn from others.
Jeffrey Hamelman began baking at 6:00 AM, Wednesday, September 1, 1976. At 6:02 to knew this was the work he wanted to do. He is the author of BREAD: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes. His sourdough culture has brought him to six continents to bake and to teach. He now shares his knowledge and decades-long commitment to baking by teaching bakers around the world, and loves the opportunities this affords him to learn from others.
Whole Wheat Croissants with Teng Vang of the WA Wheat Commission
Join Teng Vang from the California Wheat Commission and learn how to make 100% whole wheat laminated dough by hand with a rolling pin. In this class, you will learn how to properly mix the dough to check for hydration and gluten development. You will have your own dough to work with and learn how to prepare butter block, lamination techniques, folding, rolling, shaping, proofing and baking butter croissants, pain au chocolat, and morning buns.
In addition to the demonstration, Teng will discuss the important of whole wheat flour functionality, whole wheat flour particle, and the equipment that is involved in measuring gluten properties in order to select the whole wheat flour best suitable for laminated dough baking application.
The students will receive a handout that includes; ingredient functionality, California Wheat Commission 100% whole wheat base croissant formula, procedures, troubleshooting guides, and technical information on whole wheat flour quality.
Teng Vang finished his undergraduate study in Food Science at the University of California Davis in 2006 and has been employed by the California Wheat Commission since 2007, working extensively on testing wheat and flour quality. He has in depth knowledge on the production application and functionality of all the wheat varieties grown in California, and understands the baking science, milling, wheat and flour quality testing to make the best selection in choosing the varieties that will work best in different baking application.
Teng is the owner of Happy Crust Bakery, a small cottage bakery located in Yolo County, CA. Happy Crust Bakery specializes in handcrafted, small batch croissants and pastries using a blend of locally milled whole wheat flour and occasionally offers 100% whole wheat pastries.
In addition to the demonstration, Teng will discuss the important of whole wheat flour functionality, whole wheat flour particle, and the equipment that is involved in measuring gluten properties in order to select the whole wheat flour best suitable for laminated dough baking application.
The students will receive a handout that includes; ingredient functionality, California Wheat Commission 100% whole wheat base croissant formula, procedures, troubleshooting guides, and technical information on whole wheat flour quality.
Teng Vang finished his undergraduate study in Food Science at the University of California Davis in 2006 and has been employed by the California Wheat Commission since 2007, working extensively on testing wheat and flour quality. He has in depth knowledge on the production application and functionality of all the wheat varieties grown in California, and understands the baking science, milling, wheat and flour quality testing to make the best selection in choosing the varieties that will work best in different baking application.
Teng is the owner of Happy Crust Bakery, a small cottage bakery located in Yolo County, CA. Happy Crust Bakery specializes in handcrafted, small batch croissants and pastries using a blend of locally milled whole wheat flour and occasionally offers 100% whole wheat pastries.
Orphaned Grains with Andrew Ross and Brigid Meints of Oregon State University
This workshop will highlight foods made from organic naked barley and will feature nixtamalized products, a run down on the nixtamalization process for whole grain naked barley, an example of a 100% whole grain naked barley quick bread and hopefully more. We will talk about successes and failures, and easy and more challenging ways to incorporate barley into people’s foodways. We will also talk of the uses and also successes and failures when using triticale, primarily in sourdough breads. There will be a hands-on elements that are currently under development, but they will be sure to be fun and tasty!
Andrew Ross is a vocal advocate for increased population-wide consumption of whole grains and dietary fiber. He has been the leader of the Oregon State University Cereal Quality program for 25 years. Prior to that he spent 3 years as the technology expert for baking applications with Novozymes in Copenhagen and before that worked in Australia always focused on grains and enzymes. At Oregon State University Prof. Ross is responsible for overseeing quality testing for both the wheat breeding and the organic food barley breeding programs and has recently branched out to support an organic sorghum project and works with UCDavis on triticale for food uses. Prof. Ross is a technical expert in the composition and functionality of cereal grains, functionality of starches, and is experienced in a variety of products ranging from breads and noodles to cookies, cakes, and tortillas. He is fascinated about how the main polymers in grains (fiber, starch, protein) influence food texture and structure and how they influence nutrition. Prof. Ross is also a well-trained bread baker and has taught practical wholegrain baking science classes in North America and around the world.
Brigid Meints is an Assistant Professor of Practice and the Organic Grains and Pulses Extension Specialist with the OSU Center for Resilient Agriculture & Food Systems. She is interested in organic weed and pest management, breeding for organic systems, and working with growers to add a value-added small grain crop to their rotation. Additionally, her research focuses on breeding multi-use naked barley for organic systems and early maturing dry beans for western Oregon. She grew up in Corvallis, OR and developed a love for plants at a young age. She earned a BA from Scripps College in Anthropology and Gender & Women’s Studies but found her way back to plants after graduation when she began working for the barley breeding program at OSU. She earned her MS from OSU in Crop Science with a focus in Plant Breeding & Genetics and completed her PhD in Crop Science at Washington State University.
Andrew Ross is a vocal advocate for increased population-wide consumption of whole grains and dietary fiber. He has been the leader of the Oregon State University Cereal Quality program for 25 years. Prior to that he spent 3 years as the technology expert for baking applications with Novozymes in Copenhagen and before that worked in Australia always focused on grains and enzymes. At Oregon State University Prof. Ross is responsible for overseeing quality testing for both the wheat breeding and the organic food barley breeding programs and has recently branched out to support an organic sorghum project and works with UCDavis on triticale for food uses. Prof. Ross is a technical expert in the composition and functionality of cereal grains, functionality of starches, and is experienced in a variety of products ranging from breads and noodles to cookies, cakes, and tortillas. He is fascinated about how the main polymers in grains (fiber, starch, protein) influence food texture and structure and how they influence nutrition. Prof. Ross is also a well-trained bread baker and has taught practical wholegrain baking science classes in North America and around the world.
Brigid Meints is an Assistant Professor of Practice and the Organic Grains and Pulses Extension Specialist with the OSU Center for Resilient Agriculture & Food Systems. She is interested in organic weed and pest management, breeding for organic systems, and working with growers to add a value-added small grain crop to their rotation. Additionally, her research focuses on breeding multi-use naked barley for organic systems and early maturing dry beans for western Oregon. She grew up in Corvallis, OR and developed a love for plants at a young age. She earned a BA from Scripps College in Anthropology and Gender & Women’s Studies but found her way back to plants after graduation when she began working for the barley breeding program at OSU. She earned her MS from OSU in Crop Science with a focus in Plant Breeding & Genetics and completed her PhD in Crop Science at Washington State University.
Sweet or Savory Milk Buns with Scott Mangold of Breadfarm and Rachel Sobczak of Watertank Bakery
These buns are inspired by Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread), which is made with a percentage of precooked flour paste (tangzhong) and a sweet sourdough starter. This lightly enriched dough is delicate, slightly sweet and sour. This class will use a blend of Cairnspring Mills flour and whole grain flour milled with the Breadfarm’s New American Stone Mill.
Tentative fillings for the buns (subject to change!) are:
Sweet: pistachio rosewater and lemon
Savory: cherry tomato and herb
Rachael Grace Sobczak is founder, owner and head baker of Water Tank Bakery. This business is a natural extension and expansion of her vision and talents. In 2007, after graduating from The Evergreen State College, she moved to the Skagit Valley and joined Scott Mangold and Renee Bourgault at The Breadfarm (in Edison Washington) for a ten-year immersion in professional, artisanal baking. In 2017 she began graduate work for a degree as a dietician, an area where she sees potential for transformation. While pursuing her studies she volunteered, coordinating a school garden program at her son’s elementary school. She wholeheartedly led an after-school Garden Club and taught cooking classes for kiddos. Like many other people, her path was abruptly changed by the Covid19 pandemic. Going back to her roots, she started a small baking business which quickly took off.
Scott Mangold started his artisan baking career with Black Bear Bakery, a certified organic, bread bakery in Portland, Oregon. He polished his baking skills with Grand Central Bakery as Production Manager in Seattle. Over the years, he has pieced together his “breaducation”, attending classes at the CIA Greystone, the National Baking Institute in Minneapolis, the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, and the San Francisco Baking Institute. He is an active member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, has served on the steering committee for the Bread Lab’s Grain Gathering, advocates for locally grown grains and enjoys sharing his baking knowledge with others.
Tentative fillings for the buns (subject to change!) are:
Sweet: pistachio rosewater and lemon
Savory: cherry tomato and herb
Rachael Grace Sobczak is founder, owner and head baker of Water Tank Bakery. This business is a natural extension and expansion of her vision and talents. In 2007, after graduating from The Evergreen State College, she moved to the Skagit Valley and joined Scott Mangold and Renee Bourgault at The Breadfarm (in Edison Washington) for a ten-year immersion in professional, artisanal baking. In 2017 she began graduate work for a degree as a dietician, an area where she sees potential for transformation. While pursuing her studies she volunteered, coordinating a school garden program at her son’s elementary school. She wholeheartedly led an after-school Garden Club and taught cooking classes for kiddos. Like many other people, her path was abruptly changed by the Covid19 pandemic. Going back to her roots, she started a small baking business which quickly took off.
Scott Mangold started his artisan baking career with Black Bear Bakery, a certified organic, bread bakery in Portland, Oregon. He polished his baking skills with Grand Central Bakery as Production Manager in Seattle. Over the years, he has pieced together his “breaducation”, attending classes at the CIA Greystone, the National Baking Institute in Minneapolis, the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, and the San Francisco Baking Institute. He is an active member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, has served on the steering committee for the Bread Lab’s Grain Gathering, advocates for locally grown grains and enjoys sharing his baking knowledge with others.