Dorset bakery group wins sourdough titles at Western Region Championship
A multi-seed sourdough and an Italian herb and olive loaf carried the Dorset group to two golds and a silver in Devon, turning bread craft into bragging rights.
A multi-seed loaf and an Italian herb and olive sourdough were enough to put The Italian Group firmly in the spotlight at the Western Region Bakery Championship in Devon, where the Purbeck business took home two first-place titles and one second-place finish.
For sourdough bakers, that kind of result is a clear signal that the judges saw more than a nice crust or a good rise. An award-winning loaf has to land on flavor, texture and balance, and The Italian Group’s range suggests that is exactly where the bakery has focused its work. Alongside the multi-seed sourdough that won first place, the bakery’s Italian herb and olive sourdough finished second, while a cheesecake brownie also earned first place.
The win also fits the story of a business that has grown by keeping bread at the center of its identity. The company started in 2016 as the Italian Kitchen in Wareham, then opened its first Italian Bakery three years later. A second bakery followed in Swanage in 2021, and the group later expanded again by acquiring Haymans Bakery in Swanage in April 2022. Haymans had been baking in the town for more than 100 years, and the Swanage shop was refurbished in early 2023 while some of its traditions and recipes were kept in place.
That mix of new and inherited craft matters in a place like Purbeck, where the bakery now says it supplies local shops, pubs, garden centres, village and farm shops, campsites and restaurants across the area. The business employs more than 80 people, and its two shops sit in the Isle of Purbeck on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, one in Wareham on North Street and the other in Swanage on Institute Road. The bakery has also been recognised in The Times list of the country’s best bakeries, a sign that its reputation stretches beyond one competition weekend.
The Italian Bakery’s sourdough line goes well beyond the winning loaves. Its range includes white, wholemeal, prune and walnut, seeded spelt, multi-seeded, Italian herb and olives, and chilli and smoked cheddar, along with focaccia and rolls. That breadth helps explain why a championship result matters so much: it gives customers a public marker of quality, and it gives home bakers a practical reminder that strong fermentation, clean flavor and reliable structure are what make a loaf stand out when the stakes are on the table.
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