Matt Funiciello is the master baker/owner of Rock Hill Bakehouse and has been a life long food activist. He is a spirited and deeply knowledgeable teacher. This workshop is suitable for you if you have never baked a frozen bun and also if you are an advanced baker. This man understands the true nature of grains and the alchemy of sour dough like no one else. This is a particularly exciting time to take up or expand your baking, as we are seeing the re-emergence of heirloom, non GMO varietals in our region.

Matt spent his school years in Ottawa, Ontario and his summers on a subsistence farm in upstate New York. As a teen and into his college years, he worked as a meat cutter, a baker and various other aspects of the restaurant trade. At 42, he has now spent exactly half his life baking the naturally-leavened, handmade, hearth-baked breads that he is famous for. He has served as the Bakehouse' principal owner now for 15 years and makes his home about 10 minutes away from the bakery in Moreau, N.Y. which is not too far from that little subsistence farm.

Rock Hill Bread Class    (approx 3 hours with a break)

Supplies - 1 apron, 1 farm market tote or paper bag, 1 small plastic container w/lid

Part I - Bread Baking

We will mold and shape and proof our own loaves as the class goes on, We will also score them and bake them. We will discuss a day in the life of a loaf of bread and many aspects of natural-leavening will be explained. You will get to bring your own loaf of freshly baked bread home with you.

Part II - Levain/Starter

We will help you to make your very own "starter" and show you how to maintain it in your kitchen at home.

Part III - Regional Wheat/Grain

We are fairly certain that we will have some of this year's New York State wheat crop to share and we will have a discussion about it's uses, try some breads made with it and have a discussion about regional wheat/grain and the economic and structural pressures frustrating this newly re-emerging crop.

(*Warning*  this class will be fun and casual and participatory)

Additional directions: Turn into campus/farm on Triform Rd, take the first right and follow to end, bear left, look for Phoenix Center. Click here for a campus map: http://triform.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/triformmap.jpg.

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These workshops are deliberately designed to be low tech and home-scale and emphasize hands-on-learning so that you can easily incorporate these kitchen arts into your daily or weekly routines. All food demonstrations will send you home with lots of information and samples, when possible. Please peruse the entire schedule - you may want to take more than one!

Annual RFFP membership is $50 and will discount all upcoming events and classes. Discounts are offered for farmers, students and seniors, please use the info email to inquire. We are trying to keep these events as affordable as possible without compromising our teaching staff or materials. We are keeping these classes small and they will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Any questions, please contact info@farmandfood.org.

Let's have some fun!