Dewey Hall’s fifth annual sourdough showdown launches spring weekend fundraiser

Dewey Hall turned a loaf of home-baked sourdough into a public test of fermentation, crust, and crumb, with its fifth annual Sourdough Showdown bringing local bakers into a room built for exactly this kind of shared tasting. The contest on April 10 also launched Spring Sourdough Weekend, a two-day stretch that ended with Soup & Sourdough Saturday on April 11, a free gathering with a suggested donation at the door.

The setup was simple and pointed. Each baker entered two full-size loaves, one for tasting and judging and one for a raffle. The baker entry fee was $15, and it covered admission to the April 10 event along with cheese and beverages. Attendees sampled the competing breads alongside cheese boards and other savory bites, with wine, beer and nonalcoholic drinks included. It was part bake-off, part fundraiser, and part lesson in how serious home bread has become when people bring their best fermentation work out into the open.

The judging panel gave the event real technical weight. Bakers were evaluated by professionals from Sparrowbush Bakery, Bizalion’s Fine Foods, Berkshire Mountain Bakery, The Stissing House and North of Found Bread. The criteria went well beyond a pretty boule: flavor, crumb, texture, crust, aroma, appearance and the harder-to-pin-down spark that makes one loaf stand out from the next. Traditional sourdough fermentation was required, with no commercial yeast, and grain variations were welcome in the traditional category.

That matters because sourdough carries more history than most baking contests ever get to claim. A NEPM listing said sourdough bread dates back about 14,000 years, based on archeological evidence, which gives Dewey Hall’s contest a deeper frame than a neighborhood bake sale. The hall itself, established in 1887 in Sheffield, Massachusetts, says it has room for 130 people and hosts nearly 100 public events each year, making the showdown fit neatly into a venue built around community use.

Dewey Hall says that is the point. The contest is meant to build community through active participation and shared experience, and the format makes that easy to see. Earlier coverage of the event has tied the hall to familiar names in the local bread scene, including committee chair Evelyn Battaglia and volunteer Sherri Gorelick, described as the 2024 winner. A 2022 post named Rachel Portnoy, Patrizia Barbagallo of Pixie Boulangerie and Robbie Robles of Roberto’s Pizza 413 among the judges, with Katy Sparks also involved in the organizing mix.

What Dewey Hall has built is more than a contest. It is a public snapshot of what sourdough culture values now: disciplined fermentation, strong crust, open crumb and a loaf that can carry both bragging rights and a raffle ticket.