Chesterfield bakery celebrates two national sourdough awards
A small independent bakery in Chesterfield, based at Boythorpe Business Park, is celebrating national recognition after being crowned both Britain’s Best Plain Sourdough 2026 and Britain’s Best Flavoured Sourdough 2026 at the Britain’s Best Loaf awards, organised by leading baking industry publication British Baker.
Peak & Stone Bakery, run by husband and wife team Tom and Emily Martin, took home the two trophies at the competition held at the NEC Birmingham on Monday, 13th April, after their loaves were judged the best in their categories by a panel of experts from across the UK baking industry.
With more than 200 loaves entered from bakeries across the country, judges deemed Peak & Stone’s Stanedge Country Sourdough the finest in the Plain Sourdough category and their Cheese, Chilli & Sundried Tomato Sourdough the winner of the Flavoured Sourdough category.
The Cheese, Chilli & Sundried Tomato loaf, which is made with mature Cheddar, pickled jalapeños and sundried tomatoes, was described by judges as a “really exceptional loaf”, praised for its brilliant texture, balanced flavour and striking appearance.
Their plain sourdough winner, the Stanedge Country Sourdough, is named after the famous Derbyshire millstones of the Peak District and is made using a slow 48-hour fermentation process and the bakery’s eight-year-old sourdough starter, affectionately named Geoff after Tom’s grandad. Judges described the loaf as delivering “everything you’d want from a sourdough”, praising its flavour, structure and overall quality.
Britain’s Best Loaf is an annual competition that honours the finest bread produced by the nation’s best bakers. Every loaf, entered across eight categories, is judged anonymously and assessed on external appearance, internal structure, aroma, taste and mouthfeel, ensuring the winners truly represent the very best of British baking.
Amy North, editor of British Baker, said:
“Britain’s Best Loaf aims to find the finest loaves the nation has to offer, and in doing so we can celebrate the care, creativity and craftsmanship put in by bakers day in and day out.
“We received a record-breaking number of entries this year, so our judges definitely had their work cut out for them to find the winners. Their expertise and attention to detail paid off and we have a stellar line-up of worthy winners.”
Speaking about the achievement, Emily Martin, Owner of Peak & Stone Bakery, said:
“As a husband and wife team, winning both of these national awards means the absolute world to us and our little bakery. We’re incredibly proud and honestly still a little shocked.
“We’re so grateful to our customers who support us week in, week out. Without them, achievements like this simply wouldn’t be possible.”
Despite competing with much larger bakeries nationwide, the couple bake all their sourdough themselves in small batches using traditional long-fermentation methods.
The awards highlight the growing strength of independent artisan baking and place Chesterfield firmly on the map for award-winning sourdough.
You can purchase these award winning breads direct at local farmers markets. Details of where they stand can be found on their social media @peakandstonebakery
Explore places to shop, eat, drink and visit: www.chesterfield.co.uk/visiting
