by Hanna Singh
From feeding a sourdough starter to shaping a loaf, community members learned the basics of artisan bread making Thursday night during an Intro to Sourdough class in the Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen at the Ruston Farmers Market.
The hands-on workshop introduced attendees to the ins and outs of creating and maintaining a sourdough starter, understanding the fermentation process and baking a loaf from start to finish.
Local baker and market vendor Jadee Davis led the class, demonstrating each step while helping participants gain the confidence to recreate the process at home. Davis became involved with the teaching kitchen through her work as a vendor at the Ruston Farmers Market and said sharing her passion for sourdough has been especially rewarding.
“Teaching classes there has been such a fun experience,” Davis said. “I love being able to help people realize that making sourdough doesn’t have to be intimidating. The classes are very hands-on, so people leave with the confidence to bake at home and understand the fermentation process instead of just following a recipe.”
Throughout the year, the Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen offers educational sessions and hands-on workshops on a variety of culinary topics. Since opening in 2024, the kitchen has served as a hub for culinary education while providing a space for learning, creativity and community connection.
Marketing Assistant Amber Garner said the workshops help community members become more comfortable cooking with fresh, locally grown ingredients while also connecting them with area farmers and food producers.
“I think the classes give people the confidence to cook with fresh, local ingredients they might not have tried otherwise,” Garner said. “They also create a fun, welcoming space where people can learn new skills, ask questions and connect with others in the community. I’ve seen people leave excited to recreate the recipes at home and feeling more comfortable supporting local farmers by incorporating those ingredients into their everyday cooking.”
Many attendees had never worked with sourdough before, making the class a new learning experience. Participants learned every stage of the process, including preparing the starter, mixing the dough, fermentation, shaping, cold proofing, baking and cooling. While the process can seem intimidating to beginners, the workshop broke each step into manageable lessons.
Attendee Kimberly Rice said the class gave her both practical experience and the confidence to continue baking at home.
“What I loved about the class was that we got to experience starting the process, and we could take home our own dough and sourdough starter,” Rice said. “I’ve always wanted to make my own sourdough, but making a starter from scratch was just so daunting to me. Jadee came prepared with all of the tools we needed to make our own loaves, and she was very informative on what steps to follow. She answered all of our questions. She did a really great job. I enjoyed the class, and I would absolutely come to another RFM class in the future.”
Beyond teaching baking skills, the Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen helps build relationships between local vendors, culinary experts and community members. The workshops not only send participants home with new culinary knowledge but also with the confidence to continue learning and a stronger connection to the local food community.
For more information about educational opportunities and workshops at the Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen, visit rustonfarmersmarket.org.
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