Class: Learn how to apply the leavening power of a natural sweet sourdough starter to leaven heavily enriched, high extraction doughs like whole grain brioche, cinnamon rolls, and doughnuts. We’ll break down the important steps in the mixing process of an enriched dough made with high extraction/whole grain flour as well as discuss the importance of a sweet sourdough starter in these specific dough systems. We’ll exhibit the visuals at which your sweet starter is ready to bake with and answer any questions regarding its application. In the end, we’ll bake, fry, decorate, and enjoy! Takeaways will include formulas for the aforementioned items as well as samples of everything made in class. 

When/where: Saturday, April 22nd // 2:30 - 4:00 pm // Carolina Ground (Kitchen), 1237 Shipp St. Hendersonville, NC 28791

Instructor: Grace Garay (She/Her)

I’m the founder and head baker of Nomad Bakehouse, a Cottage Law bakery in Orlando, FL. In late 2018, after over a decade in the hospitality industry working in everything from bakeries, to restaurants, hotels and resorts both in BOH and FOH I settled in Orlando in the hopes of turning what had been merely a vision for years into reality. Nomad began at the start of 2020 and at the cusp of the Covid-19 pandemic; as supply chains faltered I began to get many requests for bread. What started out as a few hand-mixed loaves a week has turned into hundreds alongside thoughtfully crafted sourdough pastries using solely stone milled flours from Carolina Ground. CG played a vital role in altering my relationship to flour and ingredients. To this day their stone milled grains are the strong foundation on which I build a seasonally rotating menu as we slowly introduce a staple that is largely missing from the Orlando food community. In the summer of 2011 I graduated with an AA in Baking and Pastry Arts from St.Philip’s College in San Antonio, TX before graduating from The French Pastry School in Chicago, IL in 2014. I was born in Miami, FL and raised between Honduras and the U.S; moving often. I am first generation Honduran and Puerto Rican and currently live where I produce in Delaney Park, Orlando.