One of our longest running partnerships has come from our neighbors and friends at Washington State University’s Breadlab. Not only is the lab just down the road from us, but the test plots are around the corner too. Founded in 2009 by Dr. Steve Jones to create an alternative to the commodity grain system and keep value where it’s produced, it currently employs 5 staff and 4 students.
The Breadlab’s goal is to put nutrition and sustainability at the center of their conversation about food. They do it by developing agronomically sensible and economically viable grain crops, creating diverse and decentralized food systems, and engaging a global community of people in a conversation about what they eat and how it’s produced.
The Breadlab was a large influence in the founding of SVM. During one of the early field days, a tour of test plots with farmers, breeders, bakers, and maltsters, our founder - Wayne Carpenter, was introduced to the concepts of getting outside the commodity system and offering unique grains that could present some interesting flavors. These tours, meetings, and conversations, laid much of the groundwork for our core values at SVM. We continue to search for unique grains outside the commodity system and try to find unique flavors and functions for these grains.
Over the years our relationship has deepened as well. When a WWII morring buoy needed to be made into a pizza oven, our team got to work and helped create a really cool oven for the Breadlab. When we need to do some field trials of new varieties of grain, the Breadlab points us in the right direction and grows it for us. When the Bread Lab needs some grain cleaned, we are there for them. The relationship has been strong and deep and we are proud to call them partners in our work.
What’s next from the Breadlab? They’re going to continue getting further from commodity grown grains and work towards new colors of grain, new flavors, and new textures. We’re excited to see where that leads them and how our work will overlap in the future.