The Scottish Bread Championship 2026 will be held on Friday 27th February at Bowhouse in Fife during Real Bread Week.
Scotland The Bread & Scottish Food Guide continue as sponsors and we are delighted the Championship has also received sponsorship from The Edinburgh Bakers Trust.

Entry Form Deadline: Thursday 20th February 2026

For all enquiries & returned entry forms please contact wendy@wendybarrie.co.uk
Judging will take place on Friday 27th February 2026 at Bowhouse, by St Monans, Fife, KY10 2DB.
Full details for delivery of entries will be sent to you nearer the time.

The Scottish Bread Championship results will be announced on Saturday 28th February
at the Scottish Festival of Real Bread at Bowhouse and posted on this website.

Classes for Scottish Bread Championship

Entrants are required to confirm that all breads (and pastries) submitted for judging conform to the basic standard of the Real Bread Campaign, i.e. they must contain no additives or processing aids.

Class 1 - Classic Sourdough bread – using flour, water and salt
Class 2 - Enriched Sourdough bread – with additions of seeds, fruit etc.
Can be sweet or savoury
Class 3 - Bread from Scottish-grown grain, milled in Scotland*
Class 4 - Breads reflecting Scotland’s food culture e.g. made with historic grains/reflecting international influences and traditions (e.g. Italian/Ukrainian/Asian/Nordic fermented flatbread/crispbread)*
Class 5 - A bread excelling in nutritional quality*
Class 6 - True Loaf – baked with love for your family and community*
Class 7 - Pastries e.g. croissants/ Danish pastries, sweet or savoury, as defined by the Real Bread Campaign *
Class 8 - The People’s Bread – a loaf made to Scotland The Bread’s `People`s Bread` standard for 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.

* Fresh or dried yeast are permitted as long as that product’s ingredients list shows that it is free from additives.

Awards

Awards will be given for entries that reach a standard of excellence, based on Gold, Silver and Bronze. There will be no limit on the number of Gold, Silver or Bronze awards that can be in any class and awards will only be presented in a class should judges decide they merit such. The winners of merit awards will receive certificates (both hard and electronic copy) that may be displayed on their product, website, shop etc.

Judges will also award one Supreme Champion and one Reserve Champion.
These overall awards are for loaves and not pastries.

Rules & Regulations:

Entry Form
• Only this 2026 official Entry Form will be accepted.
• Participants are solely responsible for the accuracy and eligibility of their entries.
• Substitution of entries will not be permitted after the closing date for entry.
• Each entry must be, at the closing date for entry, the bona fide property of the entrant in whose name it is entered.
• Each entry must be from a business based in Scotland or a person residing in Scotland.
• Two loaves/pastries should be supplied per entry - one for judging and another for public display thereafter.

Judging
• The Judges’ decision is final.
• No prize shall be awarded unless an entry is deemed of sufficient merit.
• No entrants have access during judging.

Definition / criteria for Real Bread in the Scottish Bread Championship
All entries must conform to the basic definition of the Real Bread Campaign; Real Bread is made without the use of processing aids or any other artificial additives. The only exceptions to the ‘no additives’ rule are the four `fortificants` added to all non-wholemeal flour by law in the UK.

At the Scottish Festival of Real Bread on Saturday 28th February, awarded breads will be displayed along with any labels provided by entrants. It will not be possible to return items and displays will be disposed of by the organisers in an appropriate and waste-conscious manner.

Guidance

Don`t forget to check the labels of ingredients and any mixes you use, to make sure that no additives or processing aids get into your dough that way.
In particular, flours and mixes may contain ascorbic acid or added enzymes, and instant yeast contains additives.
Always read the label and, if necessary, check with the supplier or manufacturer. Chemically-raised products, such as soda bread, are not eligible.

Additional attributes of Real Bread
These are criteria that enrich the meaning of Real Bread as being ‘better for you, your community and the environment’. You will assist the judges by mentioning any of these that apply to your product on the Scottish Bread Championship Entry Form. Real Bread is better when it is:
o fermented slowly (for at least four hours), preferably deploying the beneficial bacteria in a sourdough starter
o made using flour from a small specialist milling business
o made from locally grown organic grain
o made in one continuous process (NB: part-baking or freezing of the dough are not allowed)
o made, following best practice, with salt at less than 1% of the total product weight at the mixing bowl stage (please state the salt percentage in the ingredients list)
o made from certified organic ingredients
o made in a small, independent bakery or at home

In addition to flour, water, salt and yeast/sourdough (the only necessary components of real bread) natural food ingredients may be included as long as their presence does not contradict the criteria for the category you are entering them in.

Any natural food ingredients, such as seeds, nuts, cheese, milk, malt extract, herbs, oils, fats and dried fruits, should be minimally processed and must themselves contain no artificial additives.

The full list of ingredients (not the recipe) must be submitted on each entry form, in descending order of weight.

We shall be using hashtag #scottishbreadchampionship on social media.

SPECIAL NOTES FOR ALL SBC 2026 ENTRANTS

We look forward to seeing your entries for this year’s Scottish Bread Championship. There are a few important procedural changes we would like to highlight before filling in your entry forms:

• To allow us to present information slides during the Awards Presentations, please send in one photo of yourself (or business if you prefer) along with your entry.
• The Festival is held on the following day after Judging. This enables entrants to more readily stay on in Fife should they wish to join in the event.
• The same loaf can be entered in several different categories. ALL categories entered for that specific loaf must be noted on one application form e.g. an oat & rye boule may be entered in Classes 3 & 5. Simply place all the class numbers entered in the box provided on the form and continue to describe your loaf comprehensively. This also applies to loaves that are identical apart from their size (e.g. family/small). This means Judges do not duplicate tasting identical loaves but rest assured that extra time will be allotted for evaluating that loaf for each different category award entered. The cost is £5 per entry as before (so in the case of the example given, the oat & rye boule would pay the usual 2 entry fees for being entered in 2 classes) but it saves you filling out additional forms and baking extra loaves. Should you win awards for the loaf, the awarded logo can be used in the awarded categories on loaves of any size as long as they are the same recipe.
• In anticipation of more entries, we have enlisted additional experienced judges for 2026.
• The deadlines for application forms and deliveries will be rigidly adhered to in order for the day to run smoothly.

Wishing you very good luck & best wishes
Wendy Barrie & Andrew Whitley
Scottish Food Guide & Scotland The Bread respectively