Hands-On Sourdough Workshop in Spring Green, Wisconsin

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Making Sourdough Breads with Regional Grains

Learn the art of mixing, shaping, fermenting and baking sourdough bread using time honored techniques to coax the maximum flavor and nutrition from regionally grown and stone milled organic grains. Class participants will take a deep dive into sourdough cultures and the many benefits that they bring to baked goods.

During the class, students will get hands-on practice, from mixing and shaping to baking and tasting, with working with a variety of whole grain flours to make a country sourdough loaf and focaccia bread. You will sample breads and take home a sourdough starter, recipes and tips for home baking.

We will also discuss ways for you to support your local grain economy by using regionally grown flours.

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About your Instructor

Kirk Smock is the owner and head baker at ORIGIN Breads, a small bakery in Madison, WI that specializes in naturally leavened sourdough breads, pastries and pizzas made only with regionally grown organic and stone milled grains. Kirk started the bakery in 2016 after 11 years of ardent home baking. His baking obsession began in 2005 while living in Guyana, a sourdough transformation followed while residing in New York City and he fine-tuned his fermentation and baking skills while living in Mozambique from 2012-2016. Before starting ORIGIN Breads, Kirk worked for 12 years as a writer, communications specialist and international adventure travel consultant on a variety of economic development projects in Guyana, Palestine, Mozambique and North Macedonia. He lives in Madison with his wife and two sons.

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About Your Stay

This one-of-a-kind weekend experience is designed to allow you to disconnect, immerse and explore. “Taliesin works like a charm on everybody that comes within its atmosphere,” writes Wright to his friend and client Darwin Martin in 1929. To experience Taliesin in its fullest, you will access a variety of historic spaces and the pristine rural landscape of Driftless Wisconsin; complementary housing is included in the workshop experience.

Please note that we are not aiming at being a hotel or resort but focus on carrying out the timeless elements of the Taliesin Legacy - connecting people, architecture, and the land. Each of you will be housed in a single room across the Taliesin estate in rustic Taliesin Fellowship dwellings, with shared bathrooms, access to a kitchenette, and living space.

Each workshop includes a welcome reception in the main residence and a tour of the buildings. Classroom instruction will be held in the kitchen of the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center and in other designated spaces across the Taliesin estate. Lunch and breakfast will be served at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, while dinner is a wonderful opportunity to explore the local artisanal community individually or as a group.

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Location

The workshop check-in will begin Friday afternoon at 2 pm. Please arrive at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at 5607 County Rd C Spring Green, WI 53588, and walk into the building. Staff will welcome you upon arrival and usher you to your rooms.

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Rates

Adult (Ages 18+): $1,500 per person Includes breakfast and lunches, workshop instruction, guided tour, guestroom on the estate and welcome reception in the main house.

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About Taliesin Preservation

VISION

Taliesin is acknowledged as the embodiment of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's commitment to the creation of exceptional environments that harmonize architecture, art, culture, and the land.

MISSION

As stewards, Taliesin Preservation's mission is to preserve the cultural, built, and natural environments that comprise the Taliesin property and to conduct public educational and cultural programming that provides a greater understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and ideas.