Real Bread Week 2019 – an international celebration of additive-free loaves and the people who make them – is drawing to a close.

Organised by the Real Bread Campaign, the 11th annual week runs from 23 February to 3 March and encourages bakers to use the #RealBreadWeek hashtag across social media.

This year there is a particular focus on the people behind the loaves as the Campaign urges bakers to share photos of themselves as well as their creations (although it seems they are much keener to show off their loaves).

Here’s what they’ve been up to so far:

Adopt a School

Charity Adopt a School, part of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, sends chefs and hospitality professionals to schools across the UK to teach students about healthy eating and cooking.

Adopt a School has been undertaking bread-making sessions, which see children make bread from scratch. The sessions begin by detailing what the ingredients are, the history of bread and which types of bread are eaten in different countries.

Depending on the school and chef’s resources, children measure or weigh the ingredients, make their own individual portions of dough and bake them.

It also provides an opportunity for chefs to discuss the science behind bread, such as what type of organism yeast is and how it makes bread rise. Its executive head chef Idris Caldora also likes to bring in a sourdough starter to the class to discuss what sourdough is.

Sugardough

Introducing Keith the sourdough starter. Every day this week, Brighton-based bakery Sugardough has been giving away three jars of its nearly 10-year-old starter at its sites in Hove and The Lanes to customers who are seeking a sourdough of their own to care for.

Derwen College

Hospitality students at Derwen College, which provides vocational education to young people with learning difficulties, combined two celebrations in one – Real Bread Week and St David’s Day (1 March). As part of their work in the training kitchen, students created daffodil-shaped bread.

Students Bethany and Dan also created a display for the college’s stall at Llangollen Market, featuring different types of loaves and other edible treats.

Flour & Spoon

Who doesn’t love free bread? Flour & Spoon in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, has been celebrating by giving a 1kg loaf of sourdough, worth £4.95, away every day this week for free. Prospective winners simply have to visit the bakery and café at a certain time each day, locate the free prize loaf as advertised on social media, and enjoy.

One Mile Bakery Hale

Matt Townley from Manchester-based One Mile Bakery Hale was proud to join in with the #wearerealbread as he looked to promote his business and baking classes. He delivers homemade bread to locals within a one-mile radius of the bakery in Hale, via a weekly subscription service. This week, he is offering discounts on baking classes with the code REALBREAD19. Classes include Bread & Beer, an Introduction to Baking and French Baking.

The Epsom Bakehouse

Rhiannon Abbott, founder of The Epsom Bakehouse in Surrey, has been imparting her wisdom by uploading daily videos, offering tips and tricks on the various aspects of baking bread. Topics covered so far include ‘everything you wanted to know about bread flour but were too afraid to ask’, ‘what you really need to bake great bread at home’ and ‘how to check if your dough is kneaded enough’.

Ma Baker

Fulham micro bakery Ma Baker has been busy inducting a new band of real bread bakers this week via her Introduction to Bread class. They learnt how to knead, shape and bake a variety of breads, as well as get to grips with the science behind the art. Founder Liz has also been busy whipping up some loaves of her own, such as a beautiful wheat-patterned sourdough, as well as joining in the #wearerealbread movement on Twitter.

DeBaere UK

DeBaere has been celebrating its talented bakers on social media, as well as putting its Mono Equipment to the test. What’s more, the bakers have been busy getting creative with new designs on DeBaere’s artisan sourdough loaves, made with Carr’s Flour.

Virtuous Bread

Buns, buns and more buns – that’s how Jane Mason from Virtuous Bread is getting in on the action. She’s been whipping up bolillos – a savoury bread traditionally enjoyed in Mexico – cardamom twists, Mexican sweet breads conchas, bagels and coffee buns.

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