The inaugural Scottish Bread Championships are to be held at The Royal Highland Show in June. 

Created and convened by Scotland The Bread and the Scottish Food Guide, the awards are open to any baker, professional or amateur, who submits an entry meeting the definition of ‘Real Bread’: bread made without the use of processing aids or other artificial additives.

Entries will be judged  at The Royal Highland Show (22-25 June) by a panel made up of: Real Bread Campaign co-founder Andrew Whitley; Fred Berkmiller, chef patron of Edinburgh’s L’escargot Bleu and L’escargot Blanc; Pam Brunton, chef and co-owner of Inver Restaurant in Argyll & Bute; Gerry Danby, lawyer and founder of Artisan Food Law; Neil Forbes, chef-director of Edinburgh’s Cafe St Honoré; Dr Jennie Macdiarmid, senior research fellow at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health; and Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young.

Entrants are to deliver their breads before noon on 20 June, prior to judging at 2pm on the same day. A formal awards presentation will then take place in Scotland’s Larder Live! cookery theatre at 4pm on 22 June.

Entrants in each category who have baked to a standard of excellence will receive Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. There will be no limit on the number of awards granted in any class, but if the judges do not consider any entry to be eligible, then no prizes will be given. One competitor will also be announced as the overall Supreme Champion and one the Reserve Champion.

Andrew Whitley, founding director of Scotland The Bread, said: “Scotland The Bread is reviving a proud tradition of local wheat breeding, growing and baking.

“The Championships are a great showcase for a new generation of bakers who are working hard to bring nourishing (and tasty) bread made from local wheats to everyone in the land.”

The seven categories are:

- Sourdough bread

- Bread made from Scottish-grown flour

- A traditional or ancient Scottish recipe

- A bread excelling in nutritional quality

- A Scottish ‘plain loaf’ (the tall batched one)

- A gluten-free bread

- Certified organic bread

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