Événement

After Hours at Hewn - The Great Midwestern Bread Experiment

Three years ago, Hewns own Ellen King contacted Andy Hazzard of Hazzard Free Farm (a Midwestern family farm that has been in operation since 1847), to discuss the potential of growing heritage varieties of what. Soon after, Andy obtained small amounts of Marquis Wheat and other nearly extinct grains and planted them on her family farm in late April 2015.

The flour of heirloom Marquis wheat is a variety with Ukrainian origins brought to the US in the late 1800s, produced especially for bread cultivation in this region of the Midwest is said to make the type of excellent bread that families largely enjoyed until the 1940s. When farmers began switching to a more efficient, homogenized variety of grain, the product of the early fertilizer- and pesticide-heavy farming practices, the Marquis wheat all but disappeared.

Now it's back . . ! After two harvests (the first year done with scissors, the next year with actual farm equipment), it is now ready to be used to make bread here at Hewn, albeit in small quantities.

This month's After Hours at Hewn will provide updates on the project, and will allow participants to be among the first to try the bread made with this Marquis Wheat. We will also focus on our Polenta Pumpkin Seed bread, made with Andy's oats. Participants will have the chance to see and learn how we bake the bread, and help shape and score the bread prior to baking it. A light dinner of salads, cornbread, and soup will be served, along with Evanston sourced beverages.