Baking with Ancient Grains

For thousands of years, ancient grains and seeds have sustained civilizations around the world. This class will give an overview of some of the oldest grains and pseudocereals and how they can be incorporated into baking for improved flavor and health. Taught by a baker-anthropologist team, the class will cover the origins, history and traditional uses of einkorn, emmer, kamut, buckwheat, millet and corn. We will bake and sample a variety of recipes including pumpkin kamut pound cake, einkorn sourdough bread, buckwheat crackers and millet cornbread. The class includes a tasting lunch where we will sample the baked goods with seasonal toppings. Heike Meyer is the owner and founder of the brotbakery, a small artisan bakery and education project, focusing on handmade breads & pastries, traditional baking techniques and baking with all-natural leavening. Anna Mays is an anthropologist who enjoys researching and teaching about world culinary traditions, agricultural practices and the intersection between food, culture and well-being.