The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a catalyst for change for many people and the way they work. Sean Dominoski of Ritzville Breads adapted creatively and rose (no pun intended) to the challenge. Before the pandemic, Sean was a corporate contract chef, mostly providing food services for tech companies on their campuses. When people began pivoting to remote work, the tech campuses emptied out, and Sean was laid off.  

Throughout his career as a chef, Sean had been involved in working with and advocating for local food systems. He knew that he wanted his next chapter to continue to support local agriculture. He also knew that he wanted to be able to do his work from home. Sean and his partner have a young daughter who was getting ready to start kindergarten when the pandemic hit. He knew that at least one parent would have to stay home, at least until the schools reopened, and he was excited about the idea of getting to spend more time with his family. 

After some research, Sean learned that bread is one of the products that is easiest to get approval to make from home. Making bread is extremely low risk when it comes to food safety, so there is no need for a commercial kitchen. Sean had enjoyed making bread as a chef, and he was excited to find a business opportunity that checked all of his boxes.  

The name Ritzville Breads is an homage to Sean’s family, who were part of the Ritzville wheat farming community for generations. The younger generation has been moving away from the farming legacy, but Sean made sure to honor it both by the name of his business, and by sourcing his wheat and flour from local Washington farms like Fairhaven Mill and Bluebird Grain Farm.  

By using locally sourced wheat, Sean’s breads have a rustic whole grain flavor that has a bit of a European inspiration. He uses sourdough starter, but decided to stay away from American-style white sourdoughs. Through trial and error, Sean eventually settled on nine very different types of bread that he sells at the market and online.  

Sean hopes to eventually expand his business to other markets, but for now it is just him in his home kitchen. He’s added some upgrades to his refrigeration, and added a small commercial bread oven, but he wants to keep his work life and his home life as separate as he can, even when they share the same space.  

You can find Sean and his bread at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sundays from 10-2, or on his website.