Kneading Conference West 2012 - Day 3
Day 3 - The last day of the Conference - as I arrived, was happy to be greeted by dew-kissed apples in the orchard, 
and another beautiful, sunny breakfast :^) 
There were also fresh, wood-fired bagels – my goodness, we were spoiled with all of the fresh, lovely food we were presented with!:
***
The morning passed quickly, being very absorbed in Scott Mangold’s class, “Test Baking with Local Wheats for Home and Bakery”. Scott is a very good teacher and gave very practical advice on the testing process, and conveyed his considerable level of skill and experience as he assessed locally-grown wheats, whose properties could be unknown or vary from season to season.
MC (farine-mc.com) has (so kindly!) written a detailed post about Scott's class, found here:
http://www.farine-mc.com/2012/09/scott-mangold-test-baking-with-local.html
Assessing rise and spread of doughs made with two different local, whole-wheat flours:
The baked breads: I got to taste two of them – both were good, and but my favorite was the bread made with Red Russian wheat - I sure do hope I come across that variety of wheat someday, for baking ; its flavor was exquisite :^)
Four varieties of local wheats tested: Renan, Hedlin Farm's Bauermeister, Camas Red Fife, and Red Russian
A close-up of one of the loaves: 
***
After the morning class, one last walk along the colorful path from the Sakuma Auditorium; so many pretty flowers :^)
***
We were treated to another great meal, a lasagna lunch (yummy and from Patty Pan catering), before saying our good-byes or departing for tours that had been scheduled for the afternoon.
This year’s Kneading Conference West was, just like last year, great fun and a fantastic opportunity to get together with so many other generous people, interested in bread and grains, and willing to share their knowledge and experience; I sincerely hope this Conference continues as an annual event at WSU.
Many thanks to the hard-working organizers, instructors/presenters, volunteers and caterers for making it such an educational and enjoyable event to attend!
:^) breadsong
Previous posts: Kneading Conference 2012 - Day 1
Kneading Conference 2012 - Day 2
Comments
Great write up, Breadsong. Thanks for sharing!
-Floyd
Thanks, Floyd! I am so glad you were able to go; wasn't it a great time?
It was so nice to meet you. I'm happy you liked the photos - and thanks again for your posts and pictures from KCW!
:^) breadsong
Hi Breadsong,
A joy to read these 3 lovely posts on what is obviously a great annual event
All good wishes
Andy
Hi Andy, thanks very much :^)
I've had the privilege of attending two years in a row, and hope I'll be able to go next year, as well - the activities and seminars are sure to be just as inspiring, thought-provoking, and educational as what we've experienced so far!
:^) breadsong
Being there would be best but your words and photos make it very accessible for this non-attender.
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you - I'm so glad you enjoyed the post.
:^) breadsong
a great time was had by all. Great atmosphere and environment, food, bread, weather and treats, as well as, great instruction from fine presenters. What is not to like? Thanks for writing this up so well too!. I feel like I was actually there, and might be next year......
Hi dabrownman, and thank you! -
It would be fantastic if you could attend next year - hope to be there myself - it really was a wonderful gathering of people and look forward to meeting you at the next one should we both be there.
:^) breadsong
Thank you, breadsong, for putting together such a great write-up. It is always a treat to read posts from you and the other generous bakers who attend this wonderful event and take the time to share it with the rest of us.
Marcus
Hi Marcus,
It was such a pleasure to write this post, going through my photos and notes and thinking about all of the good things
going on and experienced at this event. I am so glad you enjoyed reading about it.
:^) breadsong
Hello, breadsong, thank you for the hard work you put into recreating these three days. The pictures are lovely and do justice both to the setting, to the food and to the learning that was there for the taking. There were choices to be made and we didn't get to experience all the workshops we would have liked to attend, so it is very helpful to get the write-up and photos, even for someone who was at the conference.. I am especially grateful for your summary of the Professional class which I didn't get to attend... That was a lot to take in and you did a wonderful job! Thank you also for linking back to Farine!
Hi MC,
Thank you for your kind words! The photos were easy to take, being in such a lovely setting :^)
It means a lot to me that you liked these posts. I admire your writing and photography so much, and your beautiful posts about this event conveyed so well what it was like to be there - more wonderful memories, preserved!
:^) breadsong
And lovely photos.
It sounds like a wonderfule experience on many levels.
David
Hi David,
Thank you very much and yes, it was a really fantastic event to be part of.
:^) breadsong
Great days you must have had, Breadsong! You really have been spoilt with all those lovely breads and pastries, not to mention the lovely weather :)
A very entertaining , eductional conference.
Hi Khalid,
I think this September will go down in the record books for me, for the warm, late summer we have experienced...
We couldn't have asked for any better, weather- or otherwise - everything was first class.
:^) breadsong
A terrific series of posts breadsong!
Wish I could have been there but with these posts of yours at least I know what I missed out on. Gives me lots of incentive to attend next years conference. Thanks for taking the time to post this series and sharing your experiences with us.
All the best,
Franko
Hi Franko,
Thank you, and I'm glad you liked reading about KCW :^)
It would be wonderful if you could go next year - I'm sure you'd love this event.
:^) breadsong
Hi breadsong,
I have really enjoyed your accounts of the kneading conference ... looks like a really enjoyable event. I might be a little envious :)
Cheers,
Phil
Hi Phil,
Thanks so much :^)
I hope there's an event like this, near where you are - or if not, that you have the opportunity to meet and network with other bakers, millers, and farmers. With your considerable baking skill, knowledge of milling, wheat farmers in the family, too -
just think of all you'd have to talk about!
:^) breadsong
Thanks Breadsong.
I loved the post, bright pictures, and the almost being there feeling. Happy times for me.
Ray
Hi Ray,
Thank you!, and glad the post and pictures brought happiness, as being able to attend did for me :^)
Speaking of 'almost being there feeling', there is video posted online for seminars I didn't go to, that was really good to see - courtesy of Teresa, of Northwest Sourdough (so grateful to Teresa for capturing this video and sharing it!).
You might like the videos, too - here is a link to the channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRHQGl_rjm8
:^) breadsong
Thanks breadsong for the link. Nice informative videos.
Ray