The Johnson & Wales University International Symposium on Bread, presented by Puratos, has become the preeminent gathering of global thought leaders in the bread industry. This year’s symposium, On the Rise IV, The Future of Bread, will take advantage of new technology in order to present a virtual symposium series featuring the biggest names and newest ideas in the world of bread baking!

The Symposium will offer a new presentation every Monday, starting May 17th and running through October 25th. As always, we will continue to explore the issues and opportunities facing the future of bread, but this year we’ll do so through a dynamic new lens: “Disruption and the Disruptors.” That’s right, this year’s virtual gathering will highlight individuals and companies that have helped change the game. From technique to technology, we’ll look at how their contributions have altered the present and future of bread.

In addition to the Monday formal presentations, we are also offering a new track called “Bake Like a Pro.” on specific Wednesdays. These will be live demonstration sessions by well-known baking luminaries on various techniques and products, aimed at both the professional and the bread enthusiast community. These demonstrations will be both educational and entertaining, from some of the world's greatest bakers and chefs.

Apollonia Poilane, CEO and driving force behind France’s renowned Poilane Bakery, a third-generation family business recognized as a national treasure.

Dave Dahl is the founder of Dave’s Killer Breads and the visionary behind one of the most inspirational bread success stories of our time.

Nancy Silverton, a national culinary treasure, the James Beard award-winning chef and visionary founder of LaBrea Breads, shares her views on the future of bread in a conversation with Peter Reinhart.

Daniel Leader,founder of Bread Alone Bakery, author of three James Beard and IACP winning cookbooks and an icon of the artisan bread movement.

Nathan Myhrvold revolutionized the publishing world with his encyclopedic collections: Modernist Cuisine, Modernist Bread and now Modernist Pizza.

Marc Vetri, Claire Kopp McWilliams, and David Joachim made breakthrough discoveries using bolted, high extraction regional flours in their restaurants and bakeries, as described in their new book, Mastering Bread.

John Unrein (and the educators panel) Bread educators Mitch Stamm, Karen Bornarth, Christine Cochran on the future of bread education for the next generation of bakers.

Toni Tipton Martin is a two-time James Beard award-winning journalist, Book of the Year author, editor-in-chief of Cooks' Country, and a sought-after featured speaker at conferences and festivals around the world on the importance of African American heritage on food and culture.

Adrian Lipscombe, is the owner of Uptowne Café, located in the Northside of La Crosse, WI, that is a catalyst of urban change. Adrian draws her inspiration and storytelling through experiences from life, and from African American culinary history, to tell the story of African American influence in our food culture today.

Erika Council is the charismatic food writer, recipe developer, and photographer behind the popular website, Southern Soufflé, a brilliantly southern focused epic, with tales of food, love, and freedom. Erika has become a fixture in the southern culinary world with her popular Bomb Biscuit Company. in Atlanta, GA. Her grandmother, Mildred (Mama Dip) Council, is a southern cooking icon, award-winning cookbook author, and founder of the famous Mama Dip’s Kitchen Restaurant, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Karl DeSmedt is the curator of the Puratos International Sourdough Library in St. Vith, Belgium. He has traveled the world in search of multi-generational sourdough starters, archiving over 125 of them at the library, while keeping them fed and healthy for analysis, shedding light on what them similar as well as different, and determining which micro=organisms contribute to the best flavors.

Serge Ameye helped grow a leading company in the bakery sector from €5M to €1B in revenues, before embarking on his latest project, “The International Mission to Mars Space Bakery Project”

Darrell Varga is a film maker and teacher, celebrated for his thoughtful portrayal of the artisan bread movement in his newlyreleased film “Bread in the Bones.”

Rob Dunn, who heads the Rob Dunn Lab at North Carolina State University, is a driving force behind the Global Sourdough Project and other initiatives, where the study of wild yeast, bacteria, and other organisms promotes a better understanding of the many variables that effect sourdough starters.

Patricia Kennedy and Sebastian Wessels of the WP Kemper Bakery Group are recognized authorities on the evolution, application, and future of technology in the bread industry.

Erin McKenney is a microbial ecologist at North Carolina State University who led the Global Sourdough Project and several other efforts to engage the public in studying sourdough starters.

Stephen Bloom of Allied Bakery Equipment, is an expert on technology solutions for baking, especially the application of thermal mass and thermal oil baking systems, and their implications for the future of baking.

Edan Leshnick Edan will demonstrate how to make his chocolate babka from Breads Bakery, that was chosen by New York Magazine as the Best Babka in NYC (which also means it's probably the best chocolate babka in the world).

Josh Allen is the owner of Companion Baking and is also known for his discoveries and application of waste reduction practices in baking that can impact the bottom line.

Guy Frenkel is an internet bread legend (aka CEOR) known for pushing the boundaries of bread by challenging conventional hypotheses and championing provocative ideas.

Peter Yuen, world renowned and award winning expert on Viennoiserie and lamination, and developer of the often imitated Yuen Numbering System for laminated dough.

Alon Shaya, The James Beard award winning chef, will demonstrate how to make his signature pita bread and “arayes” on an outdoor grill.

Harry Peemoeller,International Baking Champion and lead bread instructor at theJohnson & Wales University’s Charlotte campus, demonstrates how to make various breads using freshly milled whole grain flour.

Jonathan Deutsch and Rebecca Etter of Drexel Food Innovation Lab and Grupo Bimbo, respectively, are leading experts in sustainability as well as repurposing and reducing food waste.

Author/Chef Richard Miscovich,Department Chair of the Johnson & Wales Providence Baking and Pastry Department, demonstrates how to make breads using various sprouted grain flours.

Nicky Giusto, former captain of the world cup (Coupe du Monde) Team USA bread team, will demonstrate his signature “focaccia slab with sprouted grain mash.”

Karl Worley is the founder of Biscuit Love (Nashville) and is also known as “The Biscuit King” by his adoring fans, who swear by his signature Angel Biscuits and would love to know how he makes them.

Stephanie Swane is one of the most influential publishers in the food world, and has met with dozens of the leading innovators and disruptors in the bread community, including the new game-changing generation of women bakers. Her contributions include the multivolume Modernist Bread and the soon to be released, Modernist Pizza.

Charles Luce turned a diagnosis of celiac disease into a quest that’s made him a leading recipe developer, consultant, and authority on gluten-free and allergen-free baking.

Douglas Michael is the owner of Columbia County Bread and Granola Company and a recognized thought leader and innovator in the field of baking with living, sprouted grains.

Graison Gill A baking demonstration by award-winning baker Graison Gill of what he calls a Diaspora Baguette featuring heirloom hominy grits, wood-fired cane syrup, and other ingredients unique to the Deep South.

Avery Ruzicka, co-owner and head baker at the award winning Manresa Bread, will demonstrate how to replace conventional bread flour with freshly milled whole grain flour to make a unique Sourdough Country French loaf.

Michael Kalanty, author and beloved San Francisco (and international) baking teacher for over 30 years, is also a certified tasting expert (he presented about articulating a new vocabulary for enhancing the tasting experience related to bread, at our inaugural Symposium in 2017). He is also on a lifelong quest for bringing together the worlds of flavor and nutrition as he develops new bread formulas.

Daisy Chow is the owner and head baker at Breadboard Bakery in Arlington, MA, which opened in late November 2019 with a focus on whole-grain breads and pastries, including the use of high extraction and bolted flours in innovative ways.

Roxana Jullapat is one of the most influential, rising star bakers in America. Her bakery in Los Angeles, Friends & Family, and her recent book, Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution, have made her a sought-after speaker and important voice for the next-generation baking community.

Dr. Michael Ganzle’,of the University of Alberta, will explain how flavors and properties of sourdough starters are determined and influenced by choices that are both within and not within our control.

Home baker and teacher Teri Culletto,one of the inspirational leaders of the Focaccia Garden Movement, demonstrates how to make your own focaccia garden in a home oven.

Bruce Gingrich, baking technology expert, gives us a glimpse into the next generation of dough dividing accuracy.

Richard Coppedge is affectionately referred to as the Bread God at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, where he has been teaching bread and food science for 30 years. In addition to traditional breads, he is also an expert in gluten-free and allergen-free baking and has written the classic book on the subject, Gluten-Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America.