A few months ago I received an email from King Arthur Flour announcing they were a sponsor of this year's Kneading Conference in Maine. I thought "that looks interesting" and promptly moved on to other things. After casually mentioning this conference, geared towards a diverse audience of home bakers, small businesses and farmers interested in raising artisanal wheats and other grains, to my wife, she encouraged me to go, and I am glad I did.
The conference probably had 100 to 150 participants of diverse backgrounds and interests, though my unscientific calculation estimated the majority were home bakers (very advanced ones, though). It combined keynote addresses (one on each day), lectures, and demonstrations. And there were some minor celebraties (bakers are not quite in the Mario Battali celebrity chef orbit, but everyone knows Jeffery Hamelman and Ciril Hitz who is truly interested in baking.
Jeffery Hamelman delivers a keynote address
Ciril Hitz demonstrates how to use a cooling wood-fired oven
I came away from the conference inspired to try new things, with some good tips on a variety of issues, such as what to do with all that sourdough starter rather than throw it away (thanks Dusty -- the pancakes were awesome!) and how to calculate to achieve the proper dough temperature.
Dusty Downs explains sourdough starters
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