Johnson & Wales University will host the second annual International Symposium on Bread, On The Rise. The Symposium will again be presented by Puratos and feature several enhancements from last year. “We are pleased to announce that our Keynote Speaker will be Nathan Myhrvold, the award-winning author and publisher of Modernist Cuisine and now, Modernist Bread,” explains Peter Reinhart, the symposium founder, JWU Faculty member, noted author, and baker. “I envisioned this symposium becoming a platform on which we could gather the world’s leading bakers and thought leaders. There are so many issues and opportunities that we all have in common - from the smallest, artisan bakery to the leading global companies. We can learn so much from each other.”  

Last year’s sold-out Symposium served as an introduction to many timely and relevant topics. The speakers represented a who’s who from the world of bread making. This year, JWU requested a call for presentations, and Reinhart says, “We received a mountain of impressive programming ideas. We were able to select from the best the industry has to offer!”

This year’s Symposium will feature an added third day of hands-on baking workshops for those seeking an educational experience with industry leading bakers:

• Sourdough Breads Using Heirloom Starters led by Karl de Smedt
• Baking with Rye, Polycrop, and Local Grains led by Chef Harry Peemoeller

More information about the event can be found on the EventBrite ticketing page.

Presenters and topics:

• Nathan Myhrvold Rethinking Bread: Lessons Learned From Modernist Bread
• Marcus Mariathas (Ace Baking, Toronto): From Craft to Scale: Replicating Artisan Quality While Baking for the Masses
• Stanley Ginsberg (author, “The Rye Baker”): Overcoming Rye’s Challenges
• Dr. Eric Pallant (Allegheny College): Why 6000 Years of Sourdough History Matters
• Karl de Smedt (Puratos): Sourdough: The Future of Bread Lies in Its Past
• Peggy Sutton (To Your Health Sprouted Flour) and Joe & Caroline Lindley (Lindley Mills): A New Bread Has Sprouted: Baking with Sprouted Grains, the Next Hundred Years
• Darrell Varga (documentary film maker): Fields of Wheat to the Screen of Dreams: Bread in Art and Cinema (including a sneak preview of his new film)
• E.A. Mckenney (The Rob Dunn Lab, NC State Univ.): Microbiology: Citizen Science Leavens Sourdough Research
• Alexandra Zeitz (Drexel Univ.): Applying Traditional Baking to Gluten-Free
• Jennifer Lapidus (Carolina Ground Mill): Baker at the Helm: The Farmer, Miller, Baker Coalition

Chef Reinhart noted, “We could not have this incredible symposium without the support of our generous sponsors: Puratos, Big Green Egg, Central Milling, To Your Health Sprouted Flour, Wolfgang Mock GmbH, ProBiotein MicroBiome Bar, and Zwilling/J.A. Henckel Knives and Cookware.”