Korben Gossen from Corn, OK in Washita County placed first in the White Bread Category of the Junior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest held on September 21st at the Oklahoma State Fair. His “Moist White Bread” loaf had perfect shape, texture and flavor which was baked flawlessly throughout. It topped the Junior Division also winning him the title of Grand Champion.
Renee English from Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County placed first in the Other Wheat Breads Category of the Senior Division at the State “Best of Wheat” Bread Baking contest. Her entry of “Fluffy Friday Challah” which was impeccably braided into the perfect loaf was also baked to perfection throughout and suitable for any picture-perfect display. Her consistent texture of the loaf throughout that had exquisite flavor ultimately allowed her loaf to be tapped in the final round of competition giving her the title of the Senior Division Grand Champion.
The contest is an annual event sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and Oklahoma State Fair. “We had 104 entries from 43 counties this year, all champion or reserve champion winners in the county contests,” said Raymond Parrish, Chairman of the Oklahoma
Wheat Commission. “We had record breaking attendance and always enjoy the opportunity to award the top bread bakers in the state.”
The contest consists of 12 classes, 6 in the senior division and 6 in the junior division.
State Champions in the Junior division include: Korben Gossen, Washita County, white bread; Ridge Spray, Woodward County, dinner rolls; Delissa Evans, Kingfisher County, other wheat breads; Malley Baker, Custer County, sweet breads; Hazel Benson, Garfield County, specialty shape breads and Raylie Latta, Ellis County, bread machine.
State Champions in the Senior division include: Renee Howard, Jackson County, white bread; DeAnna Stanga, Mayes County, whole wheat breads; Coletta Greer, Beckham County, dinner rolls; Renee English, Oklahoma County, other wheat breads; Valerie Jones, Oklahoma County, sweet breads and Katherine Taggart, Caddo County, bread machine.
A cookbook with the top 5 recipes of every class from the Best of Wheat competition will be available on-line January 2025 at www.okwheat.org.
The Oklahoma Wheat Commission is funded by Oklahoma wheat producers and promotes greater utilization of wheat in both domestic and international markets through research, market development and public education. Five wheat producers representing designated districts across the state serve as the Oklahoma Wheat Commission’s board of directors. Current officers are Raymond Parrish, Chairman, Hunter; Jerry Wiebe, Vice-Chairman, Hooker; Michael Peters, Secretary-Treasurer, Okarche; David Gammill, member, Chattanooga and Tom Cannon, member, Blackwell.
