$2,500.00
April 16–18, 2027
8am - 4pm Daily
Artisan Baking Center · Petaluma, California
Three days · Three bakers · 16 participants
The Grain Ritual is a three-day, hands-on baking experience centered around naturally fermented baking, whole grains, and thoughtful ingredients.
Led by Allison White of Matriarch Bread, Alex of Wild Woman, and Laila of The Early Rise, this intimate workshop brings together three bakers with distinct styles and approaches to the craft.
Across the three days, we’ll work through nine different bakes spanning hearth breads, rye, baguettes, enriched dough, pastry, cookies, flatbreads, and more.
Every bake will incorporate whole grain at a minimum of 30%, with several made from 100% whole grain or fresh-milled flour.
This is not a demonstration-style class. You’ll be working with the dough, shaping, mixing, baking, tasting, and learning alongside us throughout the weekend.
100% Whole-Grain Sourdough Country Bâtards
A naturally leavened country loaf made entirely with whole-grain flour. We’ll focus on fermentation, building dough strength, shaping, and creating a loaf that allows the flavor and character of the grain to come through.
High Whole-Grain Sourdough Tortillas
Soft, flexible sourdough tortillas made with a high percentage of whole grain. We’ll explore how to create tenderness, flavor, and extensibility while keeping the process practical and approachable.
Whole-Grain Sourdough Ciabatta
A high-hydration sourdough ciabatta built around whole grain, with a focus on fermentation, extensibility, wet-dough handling, and developing an open, light crumb without losing the character of the grain.
Chocolate Sourdough Gâteau
A rich, deeply chocolate gâteau naturally leavened with sourdough and made with 50% fresh-milled flour. Decadently fudgy with the delicate texture of a chocolate soufflé.
Fresh-Milled Sourdough Tea Cakes
100% fresh-milled sourdough tea cakes made with whole vanilla bean, homemade vanilla extract, local eggs and dairy, and seasonal fruit. Beautiful enough for dessert and equally at home with afternoon tea.
Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Brown butter sourdough cookies made with 40% fresh-milled flour, fragrant Tahitian vanilla beans, homemade vanilla extract, and dark chocolate. Fermented and cold-aged for 36 hours for exceptional depth and complexity.
Naturally Fermented Cinnamon Rolls
Soft, enriched sourdough cinnamon rolls with zero tang made through natural fermentation, with a focus on dough development, fermentation, shaping, and creating a light, tender finished roll.
Sourdough Baguettes
Classic sourdough baguettes with an emphasis on fermentation, dough handling, shaping, scoring, and developing a crisp crust with an open, well-structured crumb.
Traditional European Rye Bread
A traditional European-style rye bread exploring the flavor, fermentation, and unique handling characteristics of rye, along with the techniques that make rye baking distinctly different from working with wheat-based sourdough.
The Grain Ritual is designed to be an immersive three days together.
We want the experience around the table to matter just as much as the time spent at the bench.
Breakfast and lunch are included on all three days and will feature thoughtfully sourced ingredients, including local produce, cheese, dairy, and seasonal foods.
On the first day, lunch will include handmade pasta prepared especially for the event.
On our final evening together, we’ll gather for dinner at a local restaurant in Petaluma. Dinner on the third night is included with your registration.
Dinner on the first and second evenings is not included.
Your $2,500 registration includes:
All levels of baker are welcome.
You do not need to be a professional baker, own a bakery, or have experience working with fresh-milled or whole-grain flour.
You should come with a basic interest in naturally fermented baking and a willingness to work with your hands, ask questions, experiment, and learn.
The Grain Ritual is not designed specifically as a large-scale production baking course. Our focus is on understanding dough, grain, fermentation, technique, and flavor.
That said, the formulas and techniques we teach can absolutely be scaled and adapted for bakery production.
Professional bakers, cottage bakers, serious home bakers, and anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of naturally fermented baking are all welcome at the table.
With only 16 seats, this workshop is intentionally small.
The goal is to give you genuine access to all three instructors, plenty of time working with the dough yourself, and space for the questions and conversations that are harder to have in a large classroom.
We’ll talk about more than formulas.
We’ll explore how different grains behave, how fermentation changes with different flours, how to make decisions based on the dough in front of you, and how each of us approaches baking from a different perspective.
You’ll leave with new formulas and techniques, but more importantly, we hope you leave more confident in your ability to work with grain, fermentation, and dough without needing every bake to behave exactly the same way.
The Grain Ritual will take place at the Artisan Baking Center in Petaluma, California, April 16–18, 2027.
Travel, airfare, transportation, and lodging are not included in your registration.
Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodations.
Because this is a three-day event and travel plans may need to be made well in advance, we strongly recommend booking refundable accommodations and travel whenever possible.
Registration is $2,500 per person and is limited to 16 participants.
Because of the intimate size of the workshop and the advance planning required for ingredients, meals, materials, merchandise, staffing, and travel, our cancellation policy is an important part of your registration.
Please read the Cancellation & Refund Policy below in full before purchasing your seat.
By completing your registration, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to the cancellation and refund policy.
We cannot wait to welcome you to Petaluma for three days of flour, fermentation, food, and learning together.
