What makes a great brown bread can be a personal thing to answer: simple and classic? Sweet with honey? Nutty and topped with seeds?
Nailing the ideal recipe for your brown bread can take years and endless batches of the good stuff, but only one recipe can be crowned as the winner of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition.
The highly anticipated final took place on September 21st in the ALDI Marquee at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois. Eight bakers competed against one another over the course of a two-day bake off with semi-finals taking place on September 19th and 20th in front of an enthusiastic live audience.
After much deliberation, it was Loretta McGuire who prevailed and was named the overall winner, having wowed the judges with her hearty, delicious loaf, and its unique signature flavour
Loretta will now receive a prize of €15,000 while her brown bread will be stocked in all 160 ALDI stores nationwide.
Speaking about her win, Loretta, said: "I’m incredibly honoured to have won this year’s National Brown Bread Baking Competition.
"To go from baking at home in my own kitchen to taking part in this amazing event at the National Ploughing Championships has been nothing short of wonderfully surreal.
"The fact that I will soon get to see my bread on sale in ALDI is just the cherry on top of what has been an amazing experience. Thank you to the judges for selecting my bread and congratulations to all my fellow finalists."
