Why wheat matters to the Pacific Northwest -Superabundant S1 E5

What makes the perfect doughnut? How about the perfect bao? It’s all in the dough. And the key to good dough? Good wheat.
Wheat is the original superabundant resource for Western civilization. It is predictable, storable and controllable, enabling the rise of cities and facilitating their expanse into empires. Soils in the PNW, fed by volcanoes and massive ancient floods, are perfect for a particular kind of wheat, soft white. Today soft white wheat is a pillar of the NW economy and a key link to world trade, one of Oregon’s most important contributions to the world food system.
Chapters:
0:01 What makes the perfect donut
0:38 Northwest wheat gets shipped overseas and is one of Oregon's most valuable export crops
1:11 Oregon wheat in XLB's steamed buns
1:21 Uses for wheat
2:00 Wheat farm in Willamette Valley
2:21 Soft White Winter Club Wheat
2:41 Milling Soft White Club Wheat
3:11 Varieties of wheat grown in Oregon
3:53 A brief history of why is there wheat in the Pacific Northwest
5:17 The largest wheat shipping port in the US
5:27 One of the northwest's biggest contributions to the global food system
5:43 Blue Star Donuts and the brioche raised donut
6:55 The science of creating the perfect flour
8:10 Looking back at wheat production over time
This is the fifth episode of OPB's new video series on food and food systems in the Pacific Northwest, Superabundant. Check out our previous episodes on honey, sea urchin and Oregon truffles.
Be sure to subscribe to catch future episodes. Up next: Salmon.
More at www.opb.org/show/superabundant
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Featuring:
Stephanie Thornton, Executive Pastry Chef, Blue Star Donuts
Jasper Shen, Chef and Co-Owner, XLB Restaurant
Laura Tran, Chef and Co-Owner, XLB Restaurant
Tom Hunton, Farmer and Owner, Camas Country Mill
Sue Hunton, Farmer and Owner, Camas Country Mill
Andrew Ross, Professor, Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University
Jayne Bock, Bon Lee, Paige Craig, Wheat Marketing Center
Credits:
Created by Arya Surowidjojo and MacGregor Campbell
Camera: Stephani Gordon and Arya Surowidjojo
Narrator: Crystal Ligori
Audio: Steven Vaughn Kray
Executive Producer: Jan Boyd
Food Advisors: Sarah Masoni and Heather Arndt Anderson
Sponsored by North Coast Food Trail
Supported by Kay Kitagawa and Andy Johnson-Laird
Thank you to the members of OPB. To become a member, visit www.opb.org.
#OPB #Superabundant #OregonWheat