The Bread Bakers Guild of America upcoming events

Artisan and Automation: the Craft & the Machine (11/10/2026)

Tue, 10 Nov 2026 15:30:00 GMT

Artisan and Automation: The Craft & the Machine

Tuesday, November 10|9:30–4:30 PM CT| Buffalo Grove, IL

(Followed by a Guildhall Gathering at Hewn bakery in Evanston. Separate registration required.)

What happens when artisan baking meets automation? Can equipment improve consistency and efficiency without sacrificing the qualities that make artisan bread special?

In this hands-on, full-day session, we’ll explore those questions alongside the Glimek team at Coop Equipment Distributors. The day will include:

Hands-On Production: Start the day by working with a dough formula developed by the Glimek team and running the full line.

Explore the Equipment: After lunch, get hands-on with the equipment, learn about operation, cleaning, and maintenance, and connect with the Glimek team from Sweden.

Open Dialogue: Close the day with a facilitated discussion about automation, artisan quality, and the role of the baker.

Participants will take away:

A clear view of where automation extends artisan quality and improves efficiency.

Deeper dough fluency: how a formula behaves by hand versus on a line.

Real confidence on a live Glimek line—running, cleaning, and maintaining it.

OUR SPEAKERS

Niklas Alricsson, Chief Commercial Officer, Sveba Dahlen
Niklas leads Sveba Dahlen's commercial organization, overseeing global sales and the distributor partnerships that bring Sveba Dahlen ovens and Glimek dough lines to bakeries worldwide.

Magnus Soeson, Area Sales Manager, Sveba Dahlen
Magnus manages sales across the Americas, Africa, Scandinavia, and much of Europe, including France, Benelux, and Poland. He is the direct link between the factory and regional partners for Sveba Dahlen and Glimek equipment.

Åsa Ericsson, Marketing Manager, Sveba Dahlen
Åsa heads marketing for Sveba Dahlen and is a frequent voice for the brand in the trade press. Her focus is premium positioning, energy efficiency, total cost of ownership, and labor-saving automation.

Kara Schlagheck, CEO, Coop Equipment Distributors
Kara leads Coop with nearly 20 years of experience in distribution and supply chain. She strengthens client relationships through proactive, solutions-focused support, grounded in integrity and a commitment to excellence.

Sara Rasavongxay, COO, Coop Equipment Distributors
Sara oversees Coop's operations, drawing on 20 years in supply chain management. Her focus is customer strategy and demand planning, and she is a collaborative leader at the core of the Coop team.

Jennifer Anzaldi, Director of Business Development, North America, Coop Equipment Distributors
Jennifer drives Coop's growth across North America, with expertise in client relations, distribution, and business development. Her solutions-focused approach makes her a strong advocate for Coop's customers.

Presented in partnership with Glimek and Coop Equipment Distributors .

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

Guildhall Gathering in Evanston, IL (11/10/2026)

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Guildhall Gathering at Hewn in Evanston, IL

November 10 I 6:00 - 8:00PM CT

Join us for an intimate Guildhall Gathering at Hewn, a women-owned artisan bakery in Evanston, IL. Co-owners Ellen King and Julie Matthei opened Hewn in 2013, and the bakery has since grown to three locations in Evanston, Libertyville, and Winnetka, IL.

Ellen, a classically trained chef and author of Heritage Baking, will lead an exclusive tour of the production facility and offer a taste of some of the bakery’s creations. Enjoy snacks, drinks, and good conversation along the way!

Guild members, bring a friend! Non-members are warmly welcome—this is a great way to get to know the community!

Ellen King is the co-owner and Director of Baking Operations at Hewn. A classically trained chef, she worked in various restaurants in Seattle, specializing in French, Mediterranean, and vegetarian cuisine. Ellen studied at Quillisascut Farm School, a sustainable farm school in Rice, Washington, where she first learned to bake bread in a wood-fired oven. She attended Seattle Culinary Academy, where she received the 2003 Les Dames d’Escoffier scholarship. Ellen holds an MA in American History from the University of Maine and a BA in History from St. Norbert College. Her first book, Heritage Baking: Recipes for Rustic Breads and Pastries Baked with Artisanal Flour from Hewn Bakery, was published by Chronicle Books in 2018.

Ellen was recently elected to the Bread Bakers Guild of America’s Board of Directors and will begin her three-year term in 2027.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community

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

Tue, 08 Dec 2026 15:00:00 GMT

BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class

December 8 / 10am - 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 is the owner and operator of Small Good Bakery, a consulting firm that helps new and established businesses with recipe development, equipment sourcing, staff training, and operational systems.

Craft • Culture • Careers • Community