Whole Grain Baking: A 3-Day Intensive with Graison Gill & Allison White
January 15, 2027 - January 17, 2027
A Three-Day Class
Friday-Sunday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm every day
In this three-day intensive, Graison Gill and Allison White will bring together their distinct approaches to naturally leavened baking, fresh milling, and thoughtful production. This is a hands-on class designed for serious home bakers, cottage bakers, and professionals who want to move beyond simply following formulas and gain the confidence to build breads with clarity, flavor, nutrition, and consistency.
Throughout the class, we will work with freshly milled whole wheat, Central Milling high-extraction base flours, and a range of heritage and alternative grains. We will explore how these grains behave in levains, scalds, preferments, and finished doughs, and how to use them intentionally.
Rather than treating each bread as an isolated formula, we will build a connected production system. Students will learn how one dough can become the foundation for another: using mother doughs, levain variations, and strategic fermentation to create a broader bake with greater efficiency, less waste, and more flavor.
Together, we will mix, shape, and bake:
- Whole-grain baguettes
- Naturally leavened country loaves with fresh-milled whole wheat
- A tin loaf built for everyday slicing, toast, and sandwiches
- One pastry featuring whole grains
- Whole grain levains and scalds
- Additional breads and components developed from our shared dough systems
Skills and concepts we will cover:
- Building flavor through fresh milling, high-extraction flour, scalds, and preferments
- Using alternative and heritage grains without sacrificing dough strength or loaf volume
- Understanding how different whole grains behave differently in fermentation
- Using mother doughs to create a more efficient, flexible, and intentional production schedule
- Mixing and developing doughs with varying levels of whole grain
- Reading fermentation and making decisions based on dough behavior—not the clock alone
- Managing hydration, strength, folds, shaping, and proofing across different dough styles
- Applying whole grains successfully to baguettes, country loaves, tin breads, and pastry
This class is built around the idea that whole grain baking can be expansive, beautiful, and practical. You will leave with more than a collection of formulas: you will leave with a working understanding of how to create a cohesive bake using the grains, tools, and equipment available to you.
Because this is an intensive taught by two instructors, students will receive unusually close guidance throughout mixing, fermentation, shaping, baking, and evaluation. Expect detailed demonstrations, hands-on repetition, side-by-side comparisons, and plenty of time to ask questions and troubleshoot your own baking challenges.
This class is best suited for:
Intermediate to advanced bakers with solid bench skills and a working understanding of sourdough maintenance, baker’s math, mixing, shaping, and basic fermentation. It is especially valuable for cottage bakers and small-scale professionals looking to incorporate more fresh-milled and whole-grain flour into a consistent, compelling product line.
A light breakfast and lunch are included.
Instructor Bios:
Graison Gill founded Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans in 2011 and was a finalist for a James Beard Award in 2020, In 2022, he co-founded Alma Bakery and Mill in London. He has traveled around the country and the world — France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Denmark, and Australia — teaching baking, milling, and foodways. His work has been featured on the cover of Food & Wine, Forbes, British Vogue, and The Wall Street Journal. Graison is currently pursuing a M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Iowa. He won a Pushcart Prize in 2026 and his first book — Breadcrumbs: A Baker’s Journey through Soil and the Soul — will be published by HarperCollins in 2028.
Categories: Baking Class, Bread, Intermediate
