Heritage Baking: An Evening with Hewn’s Head Baker, Ellen King

FAN presents, Heritage Baking: An Evening with Hewn’s Head Baker,  Ellen King.  With a combined passion for history, heritage grains, and baking, Ellen King is the co-owner and Head Baker at Hewn, a bakery located in Evanston creating hand-forged artisan bread. With co- owner Julie Matthei, Ms. King has built Hewn into a major presence in the Chicago food scene, having been recognized in The New York Times, Saveur, Chicago magazine, and Forbes, among others.

Hewn’s artisan bread selection rotates daily, and everything is made in-house, from scratch daily. Local and seasonal ingredients are sourced from small, local farmers, reflecting Ms. King’s commitment to working with these communities. All of the breads are hand-mixed, hand-shaped, and naturally fermented without commercial yeast – wild yeast allows a richer, more complex flavor to develop and also allows the gluten proteins to slowly and naturally break down over time. The variety is stunning – everything from traditional baguettes, and country boules to a caramelized onion rye and sprouted buckwheat. Hewn also offers an array of croissants, scones, brioche, galettes, and muffins.

Heritage Baking, Ms. King’s first cookbook, is a go-to resource for bakers at all skill levels who love new information and techniques that lead to better loaves and more flavor. 45 foolproof recipes for delicious, nutritious, good-for-the-gut breads and pastries that feature a wide range of artisanal flours now readily available to the home baker. Her mastery of the history of heirloom grains is impressive, and Hewn’s commitment to furthering the farmer-miller-baker movement in the US is inspiring. She has many stories to tell about small Midwest farms that are creating a revolution in grain consumption.

Ms. King holds a BA and MA in history, and so it is no surprise that as a baker, she is fascinated by the history of American heritage grains. This will be an enjoyable, relaxing, informative evening, and perhaps best of all, Hewn will have a sample table set up in the auditorium lobby!