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Go Cougs Means

Lead the Movement

WSU Breadlab a whole-grain champion

The Washington State University Breadlab is a research station, a bakery, and a school.

But mostly, the WSU Breadlab is a movement.

It’s a movement toward healthier, better-tasting, whole grain foods. Toward environmentally friendly grains that work for local growers. Toward a community-oriented food system.

That last part is key. The Breadlab is focused on keeping value where it’s produced, said Janine Sanguine, outreach and engagement manager. What that means: “If you can develop grain for a region, and farmers grow it in that region, and you can process it in that region, then produce a finished product, that keeps the value there all the way.”

wheat in a field

The basis of the Breadlab’s work is breeding wheat, and also barley and rye. Its handful of faculty and PhD students generate strains designed to boost yields for growers, and flavor and nutrition for consumers. Stephen Jones, a WSU wheat breeder and professor, founded the Breadlab in 2010 in Burlington, Washington.

In conjunction with that work, the Breadlab serves as an engine of whole grain advocacy, earning it national and international acclaim.

It does that through the Breadlab Collective, a group of bakers, millers, plant breeders, teachers and students in 27 states and seven countries. The Collective’s members all share a dedication to “the approachable loaf,” which must be at least 60% whole wheat, contain no more than seven ingredients, and be baked in a loaf pan and sliced.

Unlike big, crusty, unsliced breads one might associate with a small bakery, the approachable loaf is, well, more approachable.

At the same time, it’s a good-tasting, good-for-you, local product.

And that’s the ultimate goal.

The Breadlab doesn’t envision or even want to achieve massive scale, Sanguine said.

“We just believe in supporting the farmers in your area, supporting the bakers in your area. That’s our mission.”

Janine Sanguine, Outreach and Engagement Manager

“It looks like bread to more people who need or want that style.”

Janine Sanguine, Outreach and Engagement Manager
loaves of bread on a rack

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