Chesterfield bakery wins Britain’s best plain and flavoured sourdough titles

Peak & Stone Bakery turned a fast start into a national statement in Birmingham, where Ton and Emily Martin’s Chesterfield bakery won both Britain’s Best Plain Sourdough 2026 and Britain’s Best Flavoured Sourdough 2026. The double victory came at Britain’s Best Loaf 2026, held at the NEC Birmingham on Tuesday 14 April, in a field that topped 200 entries and stretched across eight categories judged by bakery and retail specialists from names including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, London South Bank University, University College Birmingham and ADM Milling.

What makes the result stand out is how young the business is. Peak and Stone Bakery Limited was incorporated on 1 July 2025, and the Martins were still preparing to launch their Chesterfield bakery in late summer 2025. In little more than half a year, the business moved from startup plans to beating more than 250 loaves from across the country in one of the industry’s toughest bread contests.

The plain sourdough title matters because that category strips everything back to the essentials: an 800g loaf made only from flour, water and salt. In a competition like that, there is nowhere to hide. A winning loaf has to show clean fermentation, careful shaping, a crust with real character and a crumb that is open without becoming slack or uneven. Taking the plain crown suggests Peak & Stone got the fundamentals right every time, not just once.

The flavoured win tells a slightly different story. Peak & Stone’s Cheese, Chilli & Sundried Tomato Sourdough used Neltrops Canadian Queen Flour, mature Cheddar, pickled jalapeño and sundried tomatoes. Flavoured sourdough still has to be 100% fermented with naturally occurring lactobacillus and wild yeast from a starter dough, so the bread has to carry its mix-ins without losing the sourdough base. Judges described it as a “really exceptional loaf,” a sign that the balance of tang, heat, richness and structure landed exactly where it should.

For home bakers, the judging result points to four lessons worth testing in the next bake. Build fermentation first, then add inclusions so the dough still has strength. Keep flavouring focused, with one main cheese or vegetable note and a sharp accent like chilli or pickle. Shape tightly enough to trap gas and support an open crumb. Bake for enough colour to give the crust real depth, because that finish is often what separates a good loaf from a prizewinner. Peak & Stone’s double win shows that when the basics are exact and the flavour choice is disciplined, a small bakery can rise straight to the top.