Kneading Conference 2024

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. Use the link below to reserve your spot.
https://mainegrains.com/tours/

We hope you’ll join us for a free tour of the gristmill, it is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Maine Grains is housed in the historic former Somerset County Jail building, which is also the home of the Miller’s Table Café, Crooked Face Creamery, Happyknits yarn shop, WXNZ community radio & the weekly Skowhegan Farmers Market. The mill has been an engine of entrepreneurship and resides in the heart of historic downtown Skowhegan.

During our tours you will learn about our unique history, the process of transforming a jail into a mill, how stone milled flour is made and what we’re hoping to accomplish in the years to come. We’ll tour the facility from the bottom up, so you can see our team of talented millers at work and our beautiful Austrian stone mills busily humming away, transforming whole grain into beautiful & delicious flour.

Please be aware that your safety is our priority.  We are a food producing facility & you’ll be venturing near machinery. Please refrain from wearing dangly earrings and loose clothing, tie back long hair, wear comfy shoes (we’ll be climbing stairs), and feel free to look but please don’t touch the equipment.  Hairnets and earplugs will be provided.  
***We will be climbing up/down flights of stairs 6+ times during the tour. We understand that not everyone can make this journey! It can be a workout. Please wear comfortable closed-toed shoes.

https://mainegrains.com/tours/

This workshop is all day Thursday and into Friday:


Join Albie Barden, who has been building masonry heaters and ovens for nearly fifty years, along with Michele Barden, as they share their unique approach to oven construction and their passion for preserving heritage corn.
A few years ago, Albie realized that an antique cast iron bathtub, when turned upside down, could make the perfect oven shape. He purchased a five-foot antique tub and had it sandblasted to remove the enamel. Scott Barden's team at Maine Wood Heat then cut out a door opening and a chimney exit with a torch. They welded a rimmed plate for the base to contain the oven and three inches of structural insulation, on top of which Albie templated and cut a floor of all-natural firebrick. He also formed and cast an arched refractory baffle to keep flame and heat inside the oven as long as possible.

On top of the tub, Albie added three inches of reinforced cast refractory concrete and a thick layer of insulation. A metal shell was added over the entire oven, which was mounted on a cart for a total portable weight of 1800 pounds. More recently, Albie and Scott's team have prepared a second five-foot sandblasted tub. This oven will feature hard red mortared bricks as the thermal mass, with about three inches of insulation added. Conestoga ribs and wire mesh will allow for a stuccoed finish or metal skin to be added later.

The original portable tub oven that Albie and Michele use regularly at home will be present at the workshop. They will bring heritage flint corn to shell in an antique Maine-made cabinet corn sheller. They will also make or bring fine ground cornmeal, bake and share Jonny Cakes in the original tub oven, and discuss their project of preserving Maine and New England's heritage flint corns.

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to learn about innovative oven construction techniques and the importance of preserving agricultural heritage.

This workshop is all day Thursday and into Friday:


Join Albie Barden, who has been building masonry heaters and ovens for nearly fifty years, along with Michele Barden, as they share their unique approach to oven construction and their passion for preserving heritage corn.
A few years ago, Albie realized that an antique cast iron bathtub, when turned upside down, could make the perfect oven shape. He purchased a five-foot antique tub and had it sandblasted to remove the enamel. Scott Barden's team at Maine Wood Heat then cut out a door opening and a chimney exit with a torch. They welded a rimmed plate for the base to contain the oven and three inches of structural insulation, on top of which Albie templated and cut a floor of all-natural firebrick. He also formed and cast an arched refractory baffle to keep flame and heat inside the oven as long as possible.

On top of the tub, Albie added three inches of reinforced cast refractory concrete and a thick layer of insulation. A metal shell was added over the entire oven, which was mounted on a cart for a total portable weight of 1800 pounds. More recently, Albie and Scott's team have prepared a second five-foot sandblasted tub. This oven will feature hard red mortared bricks as the thermal mass, with about three inches of insulation added. Conestoga ribs and wire mesh will allow for a stuccoed finish or metal skin to be added later.

The original portable tub oven that Albie and Michele use regularly at home will be present at the workshop. They will bring heritage flint corn to shell in an antique Maine-made cabinet corn sheller. They will also make or bring fine ground cornmeal, bake and share Jonny Cakes in the original tub oven, and discuss their project of preserving Maine and New England's heritage flint corns.

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to learn about innovative oven construction techniques and the importance of preserving agricultural heritage.

This is during lunch. Please bring your bagged lunch to Maine Grains with you. You will have about 30 minutes after the tour to eat.

We hope you’ll join us for a free tour of the gristmill, it is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Maine Grains is housed in the historic former Somerset County Jail building, which is also the home of the Miller’s Table Café, Crooked Face Creamery, Happyknits yarn shop, WXNZ community radio & the weekly Skowhegan Farmers Market. The mill has been an engine of entrepreneurship and resides in the heart of historic downtown Skowhegan.

During our tours you will learn about our unique history, the process of transforming a jail into a mill, how stone milled flour is made and what we’re hoping to accomplish in the years to come. We’ll tour the facility from the bottom up, so you can see our team of talented millers at work and our beautiful Austrian stone mills busily humming away, transforming whole grain into beautiful & delicious flour.

Please be aware that your safety is our priority. We are a food producing facility & you’ll be venturing near machinery. Please refrain from wearing dangly earrings and loose clothing, tie back long hair, wear comfy shoes (we’ll be climbing stairs), and feel free to look but please don’t touch the equipment. Hairnets and earplugs will be provided.
***We will be climbing up/down flights of stairs 6+ times during the tour. We understand that not everyone can make this journey! It can be a workout. Please wear comfortable closed-toed shoes.

https://mainegrains.com/tours/