The Scottish Festival of Real Bread is back in February 2025! This is what you can expect from this celebration of one of the nation’s favourite bites
The Scottish Festival of Real Bread is run by Scotland The Bread, a collaborative project that aims to grow better grain and bake better bread with the common purposes of nourishment, sustainability and food sovereignty across Scotland. The goal is to double the amount of grain grown for food in Scotland by 2030, using awareness-boosters like The Scottish Festival of Real Bread to strengthen the movement.
The Scottish Festival of Real Bread is a celebration of the best in bread-making, giving you the chance to immerse yourself in the world of Real Bread, from simply eating it to debating the future of grain systems.
A highlight of the Festival will be the awards ceremony of the annual Scottish Bread Championship as well as a selection of communal bread stalls selling some of the finest loaves Scotland has to offer.
The programme is currently being finalised, but events so far include:
- Live demonstrations Learn from the experts as they demonstrate techniques ranging from dough shaping to roti making.
- Children’s workshops Let your little ones get hands-on in our sourdough flatbread workshops, designed for young bakers.
- Sourdough troubleshooting sessions Struggling with your starter? Bring your questions to our experts for on-the-spot advice
- Film screenings Including Celebrating Scottish Grains and a filmed version of Arise! Songs & Stories for the Bread Revolution.
- The Big Thresh Hands-on threshing for children! Research events and panel discussions on shaping the future of vital grain networks.
Entries for the Scottish Bread Championship are open now!
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The Scottish Bread Championship will be judged on Friday 14th February and includes the People’s Bread category, a beginner competition that welcomes new and intermediate bakers into the world of Real Bread. The category will be known as ‘The People’s Bread’.
The People’s Bread is simply a well-fermented loaf, made with a high proportion of locally-milled organic Scottish-grown grain, aimed at producing a nutritious, affordable and accessible bread for everybody. It could be sourdough or flatbread; a tin loaf or rolls – whatever you find easiest is what the judges would love to see.
Wider categories include:
- Classic sourdough bread Genuine sourdough, made using only flour, water and salt.
- Enriched sourdough bread Genuine sourdough with enrichment / inclusions: butter, fruit, seeds and the like. These loaves can an be sweet or savoury.
- Great Scot! Bread made in Scotland from grain specifically grown and milled in Scotland.
- Breads reflecting Scotland’s food culture Loaves made with historic grains, whether that be from Scottish history or a culture particularly close to your heart.
- A bread excelling in nutritional quality Nutritional information should be supplied in the entry form to justify said quality.
- True loaf Made with love for your family and community. This category is a special for this year, as judging takes place on Valentine’s Day. Why not celebrate the love that goes into baking?
- Sourdough pastries Sweet and savoury viennoiseries and pastries (such as croissants and ‘Danish’ pastries) made with the sourdough process – no baker’s yeast or chemical raising agents.
- The People’s Bread This should be a well-fermented loaf, made with a high proportion of organic, Scottish-grown and milled grain, aimed at producing a nutritious and affordable bread for everybody.
Judges will also award a Supreme Champion and a Reserve Champion, selected from the bread (not pastries) categories.
“The Championship might be a competition but it’s also a celebration. We’d like to encourage you to work towards submitting your best loaf, not necessarily trying to beat everyone else’s, and are here to support everyone towards the ultimate result – baking the loaf you want,” says co-founder and chairman of Scotland The Bread Andrew Whitley, who runs the initiative with fellow member of the ‘real bread movement’ in Scotland, Veronica Burke.
Enter here before Thursday 6th February 2025.
About Scotland the Bread
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Watch the mini documentary about Scotland the Bread here to learn more about the importance of championing local grain farmers as a way of boosting the Scottish economy and improving the health of its people.
Key dates and times for The Scottish Festival of Real Bread
The Scottish Festival of Real Bread will take place from 10am – 4pm on 15th February 2025 at Bowhouse in Fife.
Entry is free, but some events will be ticketed and donations are encouraged to support Scotland The Bread’s work.
Bowhouse
St Monans
East Neuk
Anstruther KY10 2DB
Visit the Scotland the Bread website | Follow Scotland the Bread on Instagram | Follow Scotland the Bread on Facebook
