The Bread Bakers Guild of America upcoming events

Bread Production Fundamentals: A 3-Day Hands-On Baking Class (04/13/2026)

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Bread Production Fundamentals: A 3-Day Hands-On Baking Class at the Artisan Baking Center, Petaluma, CA

Monday, April 13 | 12:00pm–5:00pm PT

Tuesday, April 14 | 9:00am–5:00pm PT

Wednesday, April 15 | 9:00am–4:00pm PT

This intensive three-day course, taught by renowned baker and educator Craig Ponsford, is designed for working professional bakers and aspiring professionals seeking a strong technical foundation in artisan bread baking. Instruction is grounded in real-world bakery production, focusing on scale, process and workflows for efficiency and consistency.

Over the course of the class, participants will explore:

Essential ingredients and baking terminology

Fundamentals of bread formulation

Working with yeasts and preferments

Mixing methods and gluten development

Fermentation styles and timing

Shaping and scoring techniques

Baking and product evaluation

Day one focuses on the fundamentals of bread baking as they apply in a production environment. Craig will also cover flour and milling and examine the roles of key ingredients—including water, yeast, and salt—and how they influence dough behavior and finished bread quality.

Days two and three turn theory into practice. In a hands-on production environment, participants will work in teams to move through the complete bread-making process—from mixing and shaping to proofing and baking. Each step is designed to reinforce core concepts through repetition and practical problem-solving.

By the end of the course, participants will leave with a stronger technical understanding of the full bread-making process, along with practical skills they can put to work at scale in a bakery environment.

Students must have a working familiarity with baker’s math.

This session is presented in partnership with the Central Milling Company.

To make it easier for bakery owners to bring team members, we’re offering two ticket tiers for members:

First ticket: $650
Additional tickets: $550 each (15% discount)

Craig Ponsford graduated from the California Culinary Academy with top honors and opened Artisan Bakers with his family in Sonoma California in 1992. In 1996 his breads won the gold medal at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris. He then went on to coach the US Team to victory in 1999. He has been part of coaching each U.S. team since and served as U.S. judge at the 2002 and 2005 Coupe du Monde and 2007 Louis LeSaffe Cup held in Argentina. He currently is an instructor at the Artisan Baking Center in Petaluma, California and has his own bakery/innovation center, Ponsford’s Place, in San Rafael. Craig was an early member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America and was the Guild’s Chairman for eight years. He has taught at various culinary institutions around the world and United States. He has worked at many different ingredients companies to help with product development and systems optimization he emphasizes quality of ingredients, techniques, and products.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Guildhall Gathering in Petaluma (04/14/2026)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:00:00 GMT

Guildhall Gathering at Artisan Baking Center (Petaluma, CA)

Tuesday, April 14 - 6pm - 8pm PT

Join us for a special evening at Central Milling’s Artisan Baking Center in Petaluma (in the San Francisco Bay Area) — a state-of-the-art R+D and education facility located within Keith Giusto Bakery Supply. Hosted by Central Milling, one of the country’s most respected flour and milling companies, this remarkable space was built for bakers — a place to learn, connect, and gather around the craft.

Meet 4th-generation miller and bread baker Nicky Giusto and connect with fellow bakers from across the region for an evening of conversation and community. Enjoy snacks and beverages while you swap stories and talk shop with bakers who are as passionate about grain as you are. Come experience the spirit of the Guild in an inspiring setting designed for bakers.

Register by Monday, April 6, 2026.

This event is presented through the generous support of Central Milling Company.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

New Member Orientation (04/20/2026)

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:00:00 GMT

New Member Orientation

April 20 / 4:00 - 5:15pm ET

We’re thrilled to welcome you to the Bread Bakers Guild of America! Join us for a virtual orientation (via Zoom) to learn more about the resources, connections, and opportunities available to you as a member, including:

Connect with other Guild members and build your baking community
Meet the team and Board
Hear what's happening in education and events
Tour our website
Learn how to get the most out of your membership and how to get involved

We will hold these sessions every couple of months, and all members are invited to join us, not just our newest ones. We hope to see you there!

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Guildhall Gathering in Dallas (04/28/2026)

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Guildhall Gathering at Starship Bagel (Dallas, TX)

Tuesday, April 28 | 5pm - 7pm CT

Come spend an evening with fellow bakers and bagel lovers at Starship Bagel, a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Best Bakery—the first bagel shop ever recognized in that category—and the reigning two‑time Best Bagel winner at BagelFest.

We’ll gather at Starship’s newest North Dallas location, where owner Oren Salomon will welcome us for a relaxed and engaging evening. Enjoy a generous bagel spread along with other snacks and beverages. Guildhall Gatherings are all about community: a place to kick back, swap stories from the bench, and meet others who care deeply about the craft. Whether or not you're a Guild member, you’re invited to come talk shop, make new connections, and experience the spirit of the Guild.

Register by Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

This event is presented in partnership with Starship Bagel.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

How to Price Your Bread + Get to Know the Bread Bakers Guild of America (05/05/2026)

Tue, 05 May 2026 21:00:00 GMT

How to Price Your Bread + Get to Know the Bread Bakers Guild of America

May 5 | 5:00 - 6:00pm ET

Join us for a focused 20-minute learning session with Laurie Schive, Baker and Immediate Past Chair of the Guild’s Board of Directors, as she walks through the key factors to consider when pricing your breads and baked goods. Laurie will share the strategies she used to set prices that work for both her business and her customers, and tips for making the numbers make sense and make a profit.

Ideal for small– to medium–sized bakery owners and operators, this session is designed for those building systems or refining what’s already in place. You’ll leave with practical takeaways—and a glimpse into the kind of baker-led education the Guild offers.

After the session, stick around for a brief introduction to the Bread Bakers Guild of America with Education & Events Manager Wai Chu. You’ll learn about member benefits and how our education, events, and community support bakers at every stage of their journey. We’ll close with time for questions and conversation.

Laurie Schive

During a 20-year career with the Federal Government and a stint as a cybersecurity and risk consultant, Laurie taught herself to bake bread as a way to destress and learn how to recreate traditional baked goods in the many countries she visited. After “retiring” and resettling in New Hampshire, Laurie joined the Guild to improve her bread baking skills and connect with fellow artisan bakers, with a dream of opening up her own bakery. In 2018, the dream came true with the opening of the Blue Loon Bakery near Lake Sunapee, with a mission to bring freshly-baked breads and pastries to the local community. Laurie recently sold her bakery and is ready for her next adventure.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Fermentation by Design: Crafting Breads to Fit Your Production Schedule (05/11/2026)

Mon, 11 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Fermentation by Design: Crafting Breads to Fit Your Production Schedule

Monday, May 11, 2026 | 10:00am–4:00pm ET

What if your fermentation schedule could work for you instead of against you?

With the right fermentation plan in place, bakeries can improve consistency, protect flavor, and keep production running smoothly—even within the real constraints of time, space, and staffing. This class focuses on the decisions that help bakers improve predictability, throughput, and flexibility.

Led by Rachel Wyman (CIA Baking & Pastry Arts Lecturer; former CEO/Head Baker, Montclair Bread Company), this hands-on session explores how to chart fermentation curves and production flow through targeted formula and process choices. We’ll dig into the variables that matter most in production: hydration, preferment selection, fermentation strategy, retarding tactics, and zero-waste approaches that support both margin and sustainability.

Participants will bake and compare three core dough styles: lean, sourdough, and enriched, using contrasting fermentation and holding approaches. Along the way, we’ll evaluate dough behavior, flavor development, and operational impact, then build production schedules for each bread that translate directly to your bakery: supporting smarter prep, greater yields, and more predictable results.

Designed for bakers looking to bring more control and clarity to their production day.

This session is presented in partnership with Revent Inc.

Rachel Wyman is a Lecturing Instructor, Baking and Pastry Arts at the Culinary Institute of America and an award‑winning artisan baker known for her deep expertise in bread and doughnut production. A CIA alumna, she spent more than a decade leading the Montclair Bread Company in Montclair, NJ, where she developed signature recipes and guided a large, diverse bakery team. Her career includes key roles in research and development and production at industry‑leading bakeries such as Tribeca Oven, Amy’s Breads, Wegmans, and Bread Alone.

Recognized as one of Bake magazine’s “Top 25 Most Influential Bakers in the U.S.,” Rachel has earned national acclaim, including multiple wins in America’s Best Raisin Bread Competition and a Grand Champion title on Food Network’s Donut Showdown. She was also a finalist for Team USA in the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie.

Rachel is the author of Will Run for Doughnuts and brings her passion for craft baking and technique into the classroom to inspire the next generation of bakers.

To make it easier for bakery owners to bring team members, we’re offering two ticket tiers for members:

First ticket: $350
Additional tickets: $300 each

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Built to Last: The Staying Power of Great Bakeries (05/12/2026)

Tue, 12 May 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Built to Last: The Staying Power of Great Bakeries

May 12, 2026 | 7:00pm–8:00pm ET

Building a bakery that stands the test of time requires more than great bread, it demands vision, resilience, and a willingness to evolve with changing times. What does it take not only to endure, but to grow and thrive over decades?

For this special Hearthside Chat, we are honored to welcome three influential voices in American artisan baking to reflect on how their bakeries have grown and adapted over time.

Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Cafe

Amy Scherber, Amy’s Bread

Steven Sullivan, The Acme Bread Company

Together, these bakers have helped shape the landscape of artisan bread and pastry in the United States. In this candid conversation moderated by Karen Bornarth, Executive Director of the Bread Bakers Guild, they will share the stories behind their baking journeys—how their businesses began, the challenges they have navigated, and the decisions that allowed them to evolve with changing tastes and times while remaining grounded in their craft.

This event is part of our Hearthside Chat series and is open to Guild members only. Registration is free.

Joanne Chang, pastry chef/co-owner, Flour Bakery and co-owner Myers + Chang

James Beard Award-winning chef Joanne Chang opened the first Flour bakery in 2000. More than two decades later, she now operates eleven Flour bakeries and sister restaurant Myers + Chang in Boston/Cambridge with her husband and business partner Christopher Myers. Joanne, Flour, and Myers + Chang have garnered local and national recognition from Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, the Food Network, Conde Nast Traveler, Inc. Magazine, O Magazine, Boston Magazine, and the Boston Globe. She is the winner of the 2016 James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker. She is the author of five (soon to be 6) cookbooks, and she serves on the Board of Directors for Share Our Strength as well as Beacon Financial Corporation. Joanne appeared as a judge on the first season of Netflix’s competition show Baking Impossible. She also teaches classes and advises pastry cooks both within the bakery, at area cooking schools, and virtually with her Bake Like a Pro session on MasterClass.

Amy Scherber, Amy’s Bread

Amy Scherber is the owner and founder of Amy’s Bread, a New York City bakery that will celebrate its 34th Anniversary in June of 2026. Amy started with a staff of 5 in a small kitchen on Ninth Avenue. Today the bakery has 100 employees and features her handmade bread and wide variety of morning pastries, sandwiches and salads, cookies, bars, pies, and layer cakes. The bakery has retail cafes in Hell’s Kitchen, and Chelsea Market, and small cafes in the New York Public Library, the New York Design Center, and the Museum of the City of New York, and bread and pastry kitchens in Long Island City, Queens. Amy’s Bread is still a local neighborhood bakery and a family run business—Amy and her husband, Troy Rohne, run the company together. Everything they serve is handmade from scratch daily with great care and the best ingredients.  The bakery delivers to more than 200 wholesale customers daily, including many of NYC’s finest restaurants. Amy is the co-author of Amy’s Bread and The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread. She was an original member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, since 1993.

Steven Sullivan, The Acme Bread Company

Steven and Suzie Sullivan founded The Acme Bread Company in 1983 to bake bread for restaurants and stores that wanted to offer better bread than was generally available on the wholesale market at the time. Acme is primarily a wholesale bakery but also has two retail shops: the original location in Berkeley, California, and another in San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace. Acme supplies bread to dozens of restaurants around the Bay Area, including Chez Panisse—where Steven began baking bread in the seventies—as well as to a variety of grocery stores and retail locations throughout the region.

Over the past forty-some-odd years, Acme has expanded its product list from four items to more than 100. The bakery has also worked to incorporate as many organic and locally sourced ingredients as possible, proudly making the switch to 100% organic flour in 1999.

Over the years, Acme has also prioritized environmentally responsible practices, including donating fresh leftover bread to charitable organizations, schools, and nonprofits, and encouraging customers to minimize packaging by offering a discount for bread purchased without bags in its retail shops.

Karen Bornarth, Executive Director

Karen has been a member of the Guild for more than 20 years, and has served as Executive Director since June of 2022. In her work with the Guild, she supports bakery owners and professional bakers to achieve success in their baking practices and businesses through education, training, and community-building events. Prior to taking the role of ED, she spent 8 years in workforce and small business development with Hot Bread Kitchen, a nonprofit in NYC dedicated to creating economic opportunity for immigrant women and women of color through careers in food. While at HBK, Karen developed an initiative to improve job quality and business performance in small food businesses, and she oversaw a team to design and deliver a dynamic workforce development program in New York City, growing program outcomes fourfold over a three-year period. She launched her career at Amy’s Bread, one of very few women in production, and worked her way up from packer to supervisor while teaching part-time at the Artisan Baking Center.

The French Culinary Institute provided her the opportunity to focus her passion for teaching; she spent five years as the lead instructor and coordinator of their bread department, improving the curriculum and creating new classes for both professional and amateur students. She also worked for four years at Le Pain Quotidien, where she managed its Bleecker Street demonstration and teaching bakery, and then transitioned to product development, quality control and training on a national level. Through all of her years of experience as a bread baker and educator in New York City’s baking landscape, she brings a passion for education and advocacy for frontline food production workers. She is particularly interested in breaking down the systemic and structural barriers to career and economic advancement for people of color and women in the baking industry, and in cultivating and nurturing the next generation of bakers and bakery owners.

Photo of Amy Scherber by @ChelseaMarket

Photo Clipping of Steven Sullivan from www.farine-mc.com

Guildhall Gathering in Nashville (05/18/2026)

Mon, 18 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Guildhall Gathering at Dozen Bakery

Wednesday, May 18

5pm - 7pm CT

Join us for a special evening at Dozen Bakery, one of Nashville’s most beloved bakeries, founded by Claire Meneely in 2009. The bakery has recently moved into an impressive new 11,000-square-foot home, featuring more than 5,500 square feet dedicated to baking and cooking alongside a spacious café.

Enjoy an insider tour of the new facility led by Claire and her team, followed by light snacks, drinks, and plenty of time to mingle with bakers from across the region. Whether you’re a Guild member or simply passionate about the craft, come talk shop, meet new colleagues, and experience the spirit of the Guild in this beautiful new space.

Register by Monday, May 11, 2026.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business (05/26/2026)

Tue, 26 May 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

4:00pm – 6:00pm ET | Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

This exclusive six-part webinar series guides aspiring and early-stage bakery owners through the essential steps of building and running a successful bakery business. Led by experienced bakers and industry experts, each 2-hour session delivers practical strategies, real-world insights, and useful tools to help you turn your vision into a viable, working business.

Session 1: Bakery Foundations & Business Models

Starting a bakery can feel overwhelming. This session helps you cut through the noise and understand where to begin.

Understand the realities of bakery ownership, including the time and lifestyle demands

Explore different bakery models (retail, wholesale, café, production-only)

Understand your market and where opportunities and challenges may exist

Session 2: Planning, Pricing & Financial Basics

Great baked goods are only as strong as the numbers behind them. Learn the financial fundamentals every bakery owner needs to know.

Understand the difference between startup costs and operating capital

Learn what it really costs to run a bakery, from ingredients to labor to utilities

Learn the basics of pricing baked goods for profitability

Understand cash flow—and why paying yourself matters

See how all of this comes together in a workable business plan

Session 3: Business Set Up, Funding & Legal Considerations

The decisions you make early on can save—or cost—you money. Learn how to set up your business the right way from the start.

Choose the business structure that makes sense for you (sole proprietor, LLC, corporation)

Assemble your professional team—banker, accountant, and other advisors

Explore realistic options for accessing capital

Navigate taxes, permits, insurance, and other regulatory requirements

Session 4: Designing the Bakery Operation

Behind every great bakery is a system that works. This session shows you how to build the foundation that keeps things running smoothly.

Decide what products to offer—and how to keep your menu manageable

Learn how to stay organized with purchasing and inventory

Understand the essentials of food safety and sanitation

Create clear routines and guidelines so your bakery runs consistently

Session 5: Staffing, Training & Daily Management

You can’t do it all alone—at least not for long. Learn how to build a team and structure that supports your bakery (and your sanity).

Figure out when it’s time to hire—and who to hire first

Train staff to work efficiently and consistently

Build schedules that support production without exhausting your team

Handle communication and performance issues with confidence

Manage your own time and energy to avoid burnout

Session 6: Marketing, Growth & Long-Term Sustainability

Opening is just the beginning. This session focuses on building a bakery that lasts.

Define your brand and get the word out

Build and retain a loyal customer base

Track key metrics like product sales, labor, and waste

Recognize when it’s time to grow—and when it’s not

Learn from common mistakes that cause bakeries to struggle or close

Participants will leave with a clearer vision, a stronger business foundation, and a realistic understanding of what it takes to bring a bakery to life. Each session includes ample time for questions and discussion.

This series is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 1: Bakery Foundations & Business Models (05/26/2026)

Tue, 26 May 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 1: Bakery Foundations & Business Models

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET

Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

Session 1: Bakery Foundations & Business Models

Starting a bakery can feel overwhelming. This session helps you cut through the noise and understand where to begin.

Understand the realities of bakery ownership, including the time and lifestyle demands

Explore different bakery models (retail, wholesale, café, production-only)

Understand your market and where opportunities and challenges may exist

This series is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

From Seed to Slice: Northern Colorado (06/01/2026)

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:45:00 GMT

From Seed to Slice: Northern Colorado

Monday, June 1, 2026 | 9:45am–4:00pm MT

Join us for a journey to Northern Colorado’s Front Range, where passionate farmers, millers, and bakers are working together to shorten the grain chain and restore regional grain production from the soil up.

Our day begins at The Pig and the Plow: Farmstead Baked Goods, where founder Erica Glaze will lead a tour of her bakery in Fort Collins. Since opening in 2017, the bakery has been bringing small-batch, handcrafted, organic baked goods to farmers markets, local retailers, cafés, and restaurants. Their mission is to create simple, delicious rustic breads, savories, and sweets using organic and locally sourced ingredients.

Next, we’ll visit Speedwell Farms and Gardens in Longmont, where founders Cody Jurbala and Melissa Ogilvie will share the story of growing their farm from leased backyard plots into a collaborative, community-centered operation through the Treehouse Farm Collective. In addition to growing a variety of vegetables, they have also grown heritage wheat varieties and will speak to the opportunities and challenges of small-scale grain cultivation.

Our day concludes at Moxie Bread Co., where operations director Laura Fessenden will show you Moxie’s milling and bakery operations and discuss how relationships with regional farmers and a commitment to local grains shape every loaf. With on-site milling and long, slow fermentation at the heart of their process, Moxie shows how thoughtful sourcing and traditional techniques can come together to make truly flavorful bread.

Throughout the trip, you’ll see how values like sustainability, local grains, and community connection show up in the day-to-day work of farming, milling, and baking — and how these businesses support one another along the way.

A boxed lunch is included.

Presented in partnership with Colorado Grain Chain.

Itinerary (subject to change):

9:45am – 10:00am
Meet at The Pig and the Plow (140 Boardwalk Drive, Unit J, Fort Collins, CO 80525)

10:00am – 11:30pm
Tour of The Pig and the Plow with Erica Glaze

11:30pm – 12:30pm
Travel by bus to Speedwell Farms (8104 N. 63rd Street, Longmont, CO 80503) Bagged lunch on the bus.

12:30pm – 2:00pm
Tour of Speedwell Farms with Cody Jurbala and Melissa Ogilvie

2:00pm – 2:30pm
Travel by bus to Moxie Bread Co. (103 Main St., Longmont, CO 80501)

2:30pm – 4:00pm
Tour of Moxie Bread Co. with Laura Fessenden

4:00pm – 5:00pm

Bus returns to The Pig and the Plow in Fort Collins, CO

This field trip is a unique opportunity to connect with fellow bakers, explore the local grain chain firsthand, and deepen your understanding of growing resilient, organic grains in a changing climate. You’ll leave with fresh insights and a renewed appreciation for the bread you bake—from seed to slice.

Space is limited—register now to reserve your spot!

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 2: Planning, Pricing & Financial Basics (06/02/2026)

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 2: Planning, Pricing & Financial Basics

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

Session 2: Planning, Pricing & Financial Basics

Great baked goods are only as strong as the numbers behind them. Learn the financial fundamentals every bakery owner needs to know.

Understand the difference between startup costs and operating capital

Learn what it really costs to run a bakery, from ingredients to labor to utilities

Learn the basics of pricing baked goods for profitability

Understand cash flow—and why paying yourself matters

See how all of this comes together in a workable business plan

This session is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class (06/09/2026)

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:30:00 GMT

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class

June 9 / 9:30am - 4pm ET

Join us in New York City for an immersive journey into the craft, culture, and business of bagels. This unique program connects professionals and passionate enthusiasts with the people and places that define the city’s bagel scene—and reveal its exciting career and profit potential.

Guided by Sam Silverman, founder of BagelUp and NYC’s “Bagel Ambassador,” who will provide expert insights into the city’s dynamic bagel scene. You’ll visit two iconic bagel shops in Brooklyn and hear directly from shop owners and operators, about the history, cultural significance, and lasting appeal of bagels, and what it takes to thrive in today’s market.

The day concludes with a hands-on class at Bagel Market, led by award-winning baker Reva Castillenti. Learn to refine your bagel-making skills by comparing dough formulas, mastering the rope-and-loop shaping method, and picking up pro tips to take your bagel game to the next level.

The Bagel Lineup (locations subject to change):

1. Russ & Daughters (Brooklyn Navy Yard)

2. Apollo Bagels (Williamsburg)

3. Bagel Market (Midtown Manhattan)

Presented in partnership with the King Arthur Baking Company

Getting There and Back: The tour will meet at Russ & Daughters, located inside Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Please allow extra travel time both to reach the Navy Yard and to locate the meeting point. The tour will end in Midtown Manhattan. If you need to return to Brooklyn afterward, plan to take public transportation, a taxi, or a rideshare.

Speakers:

Sam Silverman, known as New York’s “Bagel Ambassador,” is the Founder & CEO of BagelUp, the company behind NYC Bagel Tours, the New York BagelFest, and a growing portfolio of bagel-centric experiences.

Sam is dedicated to celebrating and elevating bagel culture through immersive classes, guided tastings, and large-scale events, most notably, the annual New York BagelFest at Citi Field, which now draws over 2,000 attendees and dozens of vendors from around the world. In 2023, he was named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s “50 Most Fascinating People” for building a national platform around this iconic food.

Before founding BagelUp, Sam held roles in business operations at Bridgewater Associates and Walmart, where he led complex projects and helped scale strategic initiatives, experience that shaped his unique ability to blend hospitality, storytelling, logistics, and community building.

Reva Castillenti is an award winning baker and service industry professional with over 12 years experience working in New York City kitchens.

Reva started her career as a sculptor, but eventually found her true passion in the art of bread-baking. Castillenti cut her teeth at bakeries such as Bakeri and Meyers Bageri, before opening her own micro-bakery Bread & Roses. Bread & Roses received accolades from US Bread Awards in 2018 and 2019 placing in the top 10 for all categories entered, and top 2 for Bagels both years. She has been featured in Time Out New York “New York pastry chefs are creating underground dessert pop-ups” in 2020 and Eater (Portland, Or) “A New Underground Bakery in Portland Teaches You How to Make New York-Style Bagels”.

Reva discovered her passion for teaching while leading bread-making workshops at The Brooklyn Kitchen and has since taught thousands of students how to bake their own bread. She now serves as Program Coordinator for BagelUp, where she leads weekly public bagel-making classes, hosts private group experiences, and supports aspiring and established bagel shop owners through consulting and mentorship.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 3: Business Set Up, Funding & Legal Considerations (06/09/2026)

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 3: Business Set Up, Funding & Legal Considerations

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

This exclusive six part webinar series guides aspiring and early-stage bakery owners through the essential steps of building and running a successful bakery business. Led by experienced bakers and industry experts, each 2-hour session delivers practical strategies, real-world insights, and useful tools to help you turn your vision into a viable, working business.

Session 3: Business Set Up, Funding & Legal Considerations

The decisions you make early on can save—or cost—you money. Learn how to set up your business the right way from the start.

Choose the business structure that makes sense for you (sole proprietor, LLC, corporation)

Assemble your professional team—banker, accountant, and other advisors

Explore realistic options for accessing capital

Navigate taxes, permits, insurance, and other regulatory requirements

This session is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 4: Designing the Bakery Operation (06/16/2026)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 4: Designing the Bakery Operation

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

Session 4: Designing the Bakery Operation

Behind every great bakery is a system that works. This session shows you how to build the foundation that keeps things running smoothly.

Decide what products to offer—and how to keep your menu manageable

Learn how to stay organized with purchasing and inventory

Understand the essentials of food safety and sanitation

Create clear routines and guidelines so your bakery runs consistently

This session is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

Guildhall Gathering in New York City (06/22/2026)

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Guildhall Gathering at Brooklyn Granary & Mill (New York City)

Monday, June 22

5pm - 7pm CT

Join us for a behind-the-scenes visit to Brooklyn Granary & Mill, a unique operation in Gowanus dedicated to bringing fresh stone-milled whole grains to New York City bakers.

Founded by baker and miller Patrick Shaw-Kitch, Brooklyn Granary & Mill is built on the belief that better bread comes from fresh stone-milled whole grain flour. Grains sourced from farms across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are milled on two 40-inch stone mills made by New American Stone Mills, allowing bakers to work with flour at its freshest and most expressive.

Participants will tour the mill with Patrick and see how the on-site bakery and café showcase what’s possible with 100% whole grain, freshly milled flour and regionally sourced ingredients. Come nosh on snacks and beverages while connecting with fellow bakers.

Guildhall Gatherings are all about community—a place to kick back, swap stories from the bench, and meet others who care deeply about the craft. Whether or not you're a Guild member, you’re invited to talk shop, make new connections, and experience the spirit of the Guild.

Register by Monday, June 15, 2026.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 5: Staffing, Training & Daily Management (06/23/2026)

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 5: Staffing, Training & Daily Management

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

Session 5: Staffing, Training & Daily Management

You can’t do it all alone—at least not for long. Learn how to build a team and structure that supports your bakery (and your sanity).

Figure out when it’s time to hire—and who to hire first

Train staff to work efficiently and consistently

Build schedules that support production without exhausting your team

Handle communication and performance issues with confidence

Manage your own time and energy to avoid burnout

This session is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 6: Marketing, Growth & Long-Term Sustainability (06/30/2026)

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Building Your Bakery: From Vision to Viable Business - Session 6: Marketing, Growth & Long-Term Sustainability

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET Via Zoom

Ready to turn your bakery idea into reality?

Session 6: Marketing, Growth & Long-Term Sustainability

Opening is just the beginning. This session focuses on building a bakery that lasts.

Define your brand and get the word out

Build and retain a loyal customer base

Track key metrics like product sales, labor, and waste

Recognize when it’s time to grow—and when it’s not

Learn from common mistakes that cause bakeries to struggle or close

This session is presented in partnership with Cybake.

Craft • Culture • Careers• Community

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class (09/08/2026)

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:30:00 GMT

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class

September 8 / 9:30am - 4pm ET

The Bagel Lineup (locations subject to change):

1. Russ & Daughters (Brooklyn Navy Yard)

2. Apollo Bagels (Williamsburg)

3. Bagel Market (Midtown Manhattan)

Presented in partnership with the King Arthur Baking Company

Speakers:

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class (12/08/2026)

Tue, 08 Dec 2026 14:30:00 GMT

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class

December 8 / 9:30am - 4pm ET

The Bagel Lineup (locations subject to change):

1. Russ & Daughters (Brooklyn Navy Yard)

2. Apollo Bagels (Williamsburg)

3. Bagel Market (Midtown Manhattan)

Presented in partnership with the King Arthur Baking Company

Speakers:

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community