A Garlic & Rosemary Deep Pan Focaccia from 4 Eyes Bakery was recently crowned the champion of the Britain’s Best Loaf 2024 competition.
Taking place on Tuesday 30 April at the UK Food & Drink Shows held in the Birmingham NEC, the competition saw nearly 200 loaves battle it out across eight categories to find the best bread the nation’s professional bakers have to offer.
Here, we take a closer look at the competition, which was sponsored by ADM Milling, Bako Group, Brook Food & Bakery Equipment, and Lesaffre UK & Ireland.
Entries were split into eight categories – Flavoured Sourdough, Gluten Free, Innovation, International, Plain Sourdough, Seeded Sourdough, White and Wholegrain – with a winner and highly commended loaf awarded for each. From there, the category winners went on to battle it out for the ultimate title of Britain’s Best Loaf 2024.
Loaves all shapes and sizes were entered. There was a surge of sourdough but also plenty of interesting flavours and international inspiration featured across the categories.
Judging
To judge the loaves, British Baker assembled an esteemed team featuring technical bakers, bakery consultants with decades’ of experience, award-winning bakers, head bakers, and former champions.
The judging panel from left to right consisted of: Simon Lawton-Hayes, technical sales manager at Brook Food & Bakery Equipment; Lucas Fussnegger, director of Fussnegger Ltd; William Leet, bakery development technician at David Wood Baking; Andrew Layte, technical sales manager at Lesaffre UK and Ireland; Tim Goodwin, founder, The Street Bakeshop; Lee Smith, owner of Poppyseed Bakery; Neil Woods, bakery consultant; Louise West, training advisor for NFDT; Claire Powell, technical baker at Bako; Naomi Spaven, head baker at Wylde Bakery; Alex Gooch, founder and baker of Alex Gooch Artisan Bakery; Sarah Thornber, artisan baker at Corner Cottage Bakery; Gareth Edwards, head of sales for craft and speciality at ADM; Clare Barton, owner & head baker of Bakehouse 124; Dan Riley, deputy editor of British Baker; and Sara Autton, bakery consultant;
Every loaf was put through its paces by the judges, being assessed for its visual appeal, internal structure, and bake quality, aroma, and taste.
With the winning loaves decided, it was time to inform the bakers of their success. The category winners were:
- Flavoured Sourdough: Beetroot Multiseed Sourdough, Seasons Bakery
- Gluten Free: Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Sage Bakery
- Innovation: Kuschty Rye, Peter Cooks Bread
- International: Garlic & Rosemary Deep Pan Focaccia, 4 Eyes Bakery
- Plain Sourdough: Oxford Country Loaf, Imma The Bakery
- Seeded Sourdough: Uncle Tom Cobbler N’all, Your Davey Bread
- White: Pugliese, Joe’s Bakery
- Wholegrain: Wholemeal Loaf with Bran Crust, Seasons Bakery
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