#GSVMemberMonday Feature

Founded in July of 2003 by Scott Mangold and Renée Bourgault in the tiny Town of Edison, Breadfarm is an artisan bakery focusing on naturally leavened breads, rustic pastries, and delicious pantry staples.  Every item made at Breadfarm is hand crafted from scratch. Their breads are naturally leavened using wild yeasts and their cookies and shelf stable pantry items are made in small batches, with much love and care.

Meet Scott and Renée

According to Breadfarm’s website, Scott started his artisan baking career with Black Bear Bakery, a certified organic, bread bakery in Portland, Oregon.  He polished his baking skills with Grand Central Bakery as Production Manager in Seattle.  Over the years, he has pieced together his “breaducation”, attending classes at the CIA Greystone, the National Baking Institute in Minneapolis, the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, and the San Francisco Baking Institute.  He is an active member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, has served on the steering committee for the Bread Lab’s Grain Gathering, advocates for locally grown grains and enjoys sharing his baking knowledge with others.

A baker by marriage, Renée has been an essential voice and partner of Breadfarm since its inception.  With a degree in French from WWU and a background in Sales and Marketing, she oversees the pastry department, retail shop and farmers markets.

Renée loves the relationships that have grown over the years with the customers, working with local farmers to feature in-season fruits or vegetables and mentoring the staff in baking and life. Supporting local business and sustainable commerce is important to Scott, Renée, and the Breadfarm team (more affectionally known as Breadfarmers). Whenever possible, local ingredients are sourced.  Several flours used at the bakery are milled locally at Fairhaven Mill and Cairnspring Mills, right down the road from the bakery and picked up weekly.  Local potatoes are used in their famous Samish River Potato Bread, in addition to small crop fruits, veggies, and herbs from local farmers and producers.  Free-range eggs come from right here in the Skagit Valley and hazelnuts are grown just north of Bellingham. 

The Adopt-a-Loaf Program Rises to the Occasion

One way that Breadfarm has ‘risen’ to the occasion in fostering a robust, local food system is through the Adopt-a-Loaf program. Adopt-a-Loaf was launched in 2020. The program provides community access to naturally leavened artisan breads as well as helps support the regional grain economy and local farmers.  

Here’s how it works:

1. You purchase an Adopt~a~Loaf from Breadfarm
2. Breadfarm sources grain from local mills and bakes loaves that contain at least 40% locally milled flour.
3. Adopt~a~Loaf is distributed to Skagit County food banks and food pantries to support your community in need.  

 Did you know? For every 12 loaves donated, Breadfarm will throw in the 13th loaf to create a “bakers dozen”. To date, over 6450 loaves have been donated to local food banks! To find out more about the Adopt-a-Loaf program or to participate, please visit Breadfarm’s website.

Holiday Pre-orders Are Now Available

With the holiday season fast approaching, Breadfarm is now accepting pre-orders for the holidays including their Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread, Gingerbread Peeps, Fruitcake, Stollen, and their famous (and oh-so-delicious!) Holiday Cookie Box.  Orders may be placed by noon, 2 days prior to pick up through their website. Looking to give the gift of Breadfarm to/from afar? Be sure to check out their shippable items!

We recently caught up with Renée in the middle of the holiday baking season, to ask what her and Scott’s favorite Skagit grown crop is. Here’s what Renée said:

“Potatoes are our favorite Skagit Valley grown crop and we have 4 spectacular products featuring them; our Samish River Potato Bread, Dinner Rolls (available for the upcoming holiday season), Burger Buns AND our delicious savory Potato Leek Danish.”

Breadfarm is open daily 8a-4p but will be closed Dec 25, Dec 26 and Jan 1 so that the Breadfarmers may enjoy time with their friends and family. In addition to the online orders and available walk-up window in Edison, you can also find Breadfarm at the Bellingham and Anacortes Farmers Markets throughout the year.

As a founding member of the Genuine Skagit Valley program, we’re so happy to feature Breadfarm as this week’s #GSVMemberMonday feature. Thank you for supporting the GSV program and for sharing the love through loaves, Breadfarm!