World Bread Awards USA 2024
Crafted by RBA and BBGA
Celebrating the Art of Bread-Making
Calling all bakers! The IBIE World Bread Awards crafted by RBA and BBGA, the nation’s most prestigious bread competition, is back for 2024. With 15 award categories, including baguettes, bagels, and sourdough, there’s a place for every type of bread creation. Additionally, they compete for specialty awards like the Showstopper (Savory or Sweet), Home Baker, and the Student Baker.
This is your chance to be judged by an esteemed panel, win a grand prize of $1,000 and gain invaluable industry recognition. So, dust off your recipes, dig out your mixing bowls, and don your aprons – the competition is now open! Read on to learn more about entering the competition and be sure to apply by Monday, September 30th, 2024. The competition will take place in Chicago, IL, from October 7-8, 2024; applicants need not be present to win.
2024 Categories: IBIE World Bread Awards USA
The IBIE World Bread Awards USA 2024 will recognize bakers from the following categories. Click on the categories below to view details.
1. Sourdough:
Naturally leavened with a sourdough starter, no added yeast. Fermentation comes from creating/utilizing a natural sourdough starter/culture. No additional inclusions (fruits, nuts, etc.) may be added to the entries. The addition of commercial yeast is strictly forbidden.
2. Ciabatta:
A rustic & crusty free-form Italian loaf with an open crumb structure. It may or may not include oil.
3. Gluten Free:
Bread of any variety but must be made with gluten-free flour and be free of inclusions.
4. Baguette:
Bread baked into a long, narrow loaf. A traditional French baguette has a crispy brown crust and a light, chewy interior.
5. Bagel:
A ring of yeasted wheat dough, with a brown exterior and chewy interior. A ring of yeasted wheat dough made by boiling it and then baking, with a brown exterior and chewy interior.
6. Showstopper Specialty – Sweet:
An open category for you to show us your own unique sweet creations!
7. Showstopper Specialty – Savory:
An open category for you to show us your own savory based favorites!
8. Challah:
Traditional Jewish enriched plaited loaf, made with eggs and oil. No inclusions. Use a four or six strand braiding technique.
9. Wholewheat/Whole Meal:
Brown bread made from wholegrain flour with no inclusions. 75% must be wholegrain to qualify.
10. Pretzel:
Baked bread, both hard and soft-baked pretzels, must be lye-dipped.
11. Burger Bun:
A bun made specifically for a burger patty, so that when it is cut in half, it carries the burger. It may be of any type, plain or flavored.
12. Flatbread:
Breads and crackers made from unleavened (non-yeasted) dough, including tortillas, m’smen, chapati, tortilla, etc.
13. Local Grains Loaf:
Lean bread of any variety using at least 50% grain grown and milled within 500 miles of Chicago (no inclusions allowed).
14. Student Baker:
Show us what you got – hone your baking skills and enter as a student for a tailored category to help the future generation of bakers. Entrants to this category must be currently enrolled students in a primary or higher learning institution according to the Rules of Entry. The use of bread machines is not permitted nor is the use of inclusions. Note: The winner of the student-baker category is not eligible for the overall title.
15. Home Baker:
Brown or white or in-between, enriched or lean, whatever takes your fancy. Entrants to this category must be considered amateur bakers according to the Rules of Entry. The use of bread machines is not permitted nor is the use of inclusions. Note: The winner of the student-baker category is not eligible for the overall title.
WHY ENTER
Showcase your bread-making skills alongside your peers and gain recognition from industry experts. Not only will winners receive category trophies and a chance at the grand prize, but all winners will also be celebrated in our PR campaign and across web and social media platforms, bringing you and your bread the acclaim you deserve.
It’s not only our Category Winners who benefit from entering. With every loaf judged on its own merits against set criteria, you could gain invaluable industry acclaim by scooping our prestigious gold, silver or bronze awards.
For details on the entry process and to ensure your eligibility, please review the Rules of Entry.
ENTERING IS EASY
- Select categories to compete in.
- Review our Terms of Entry.
- Complete your Entry Form and submit fee(s) by Monday, September 30, 2024.
- Bake, package, label and ship your entries. *NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN*
- You have the option to join us in Chicago, IL, from October 6-8, 2024. See details and offerings below.
APPLICATION FEES & OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
AWARDS ENTRY FEE(S)
$75 – First Submission
$50 – Each Additional Submission
OTHER OFFERINGS
$250 – Bakery Tours (Oct. 6)
$25 – BBGA & RBA Guild Gathering (Oct. 6)
$45 – Luncheon (Oct. 7)
$95 – Brunch/Awards Ceremony (Oct. 8)
EDUCATION SESSIONS (Oct. 7)
$250 – Hands-on Demo: Flatbreads of the World
$250 – Hands-on Demo: All about Levain
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$75 – The Local Grain Economy, From Seed to Slice Seminar
$75 – Sourdough Science Seminar
$75 – The Good Jobs Strategy Seminar
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$150 – All-Access Pass (Includes access to all three seminars)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
An entry confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided on your application. Please ensure [email protected] is added to your safe sender list.
Once the application period closes on Monday, September 30, 2024, you will receive all required paperwork and packaging instructions by email.
You need not be present to win, but you are welcome to attend the Brunch and Awards Ceremony in Chicago, IL, at 11:15 AM on October 8, 2024. Winners of the IBIE World Bread Awards USA 2024 will be announced during this ceremony at Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute.
DETAILS FOR TRAVEL
Classes, the competition and awards ceremony are hosted at:
Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute
740 W 63rd Street, Chicago, IL 60621
We recommend making hotel reservations at:
Hyatt Place Chicago – South/University Medical Center
5225 S. Harper Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60615
CO-LOCATED EDUCATION SESSIONS (OCTOBER 7, 2024)
If you’ll be joining us in-person for the World Bread Awards USA competition, consider the following education opportunities to maximize your time. You can add-on classes, the bakery tour and the Awards Brunch to your awards application for an extra fee. Click on a class below to view details.
HANDS-ON DEMO SESSIONS – $250 EACH
All About Levain! | 10:00 am-4:00 pm | Romain Dufour, The Chocolate Academy
This hands-on course explores the production of six levain breads. Learn all about the use of preferments in bread formulation and production, as well as its rich development of flavor.
BREAD PRODUCTION:
- Ancient Wheat Sourdough Bread
- Beer Bread
- Tourte Auvergnate
- Wheat Germ Sourdough Baguette
- Milk Levain Brioche
- Walnut Porridge Sourdough
Flatbreads of the World | 10:00 am-4:00 pm | Melina Kelson, Bread Bakers Guild of America
Nearly every culture has a flatbread as a staple, highlighting regional offerings and rounding out meals. Join Melina Kelson, Education & Events Manager for the Bread Bakers Guild of America, for a culinary trip around the world. We will explore a range of yeasted and unyeasted flatbreads such as tortillas made with heirloom corn masa; we will compare malawach—a Yemenite Jewish laminated dough, against aloo paratha—an Indian laminated bread, and learn the difference between pide and pita, tender Armenian lavash and Zaatar Manakeesh. Products subject to change.
THIS COURSE WILL COVER:
- The impacts of conduction on flatbreads
- How steam preserves texture of flatbreads
- The impact and evolution of simple lamination techniques
LECTURE SESSIONS – $75 EACH (OR ALL 3 FOR $150)
Explore the Local Grain Economy | 10:30 am-12:00 pm | Members of the Artisan Grain Collaborative
A growing demand from consumers for local foods and an interest in sustainable supply chains has bakeries taking note and working to source local grains for their breads and baked goods whenever they can. Join the Artisan Grain Collaborative for a panel discussion on how farmers and millers are working to meet that demand and to build a regenerative grainshed in the Midwest and how bakers are incorporating these products into their menus. We will hear from a midwestern small grains farmer, a local miller and an area bakery about their involvement in the local grain economy, and how these products are building sustainability, and great flavor, into our baked goods.
The Artisan Grain Collaborative is a network of farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, chefs, food manufacturers, brewers, distillers, researchers, and advocates working together to promote a regenerative grainshed in the Midwest.
Confirmed panelists include Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, IL. Stay tuned for more information!
The Science of Sourdough | 1:00 pm-2:30 pm | Michael Gleason, Puratos USA
This course provides Bakers, R&D personnel, and other food industry professionals with an in-depth understanding of the science behind sourdough and the intricacies of sourdough flavors.
This course covers the fundamentals of fermentation, the biodiversity and microbiology of sourdough and how they impact flavor in a finished bread product.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
- Understand the basic composition of sourdough
- Develop foundational knowledge of the theory and science behind sourdough fermentation
- Apply practical knowledge of flavor profile enhancement using sourdough
The Good Jobs Strategy Seminar | 3:00 pm-4:30 pm | Sandhya Mahadevan, The Good Jobs Institute
Join the Good Jobs Institute for an introductory session on how to improve your business performance and employee experience simultaneously by combining an investment in people with operational choices that raise the productivity, contribution and motivation of employees.
We will explore four operational choices – focus and simplify; standardize and empower; cross-train; and operate with slack – that have been proven to lower employee turnover and increase profitability. You will come away from this session with an understanding of why good jobs make good business sense, and learn about the types of changes that other leaders have made to build a good jobs system.
GJI’s interactive education session will include case studies and research on the Good Jobs Strategy framework and group discussions to address pain-points at your business.
THIS COURSE WILL COVER:
- Business Case for Good Jobs: Discussion of the financial and competitive costs of employee turnover in bakeries.
- The Good Jobs Strategy: Explanation of the framework of operational choices and investments in people that increase employee contribution, motivation, and productivity, and drive value for bakeries. Participants will brainstorm applications of these concepts to their own context.
- Where companies Start: Case study examples from others who have transformed their businesses using the GJS.
A unique set of awards which not only celebrate the skill of bread-making at its most diverse and inspiring, but also seek to encourage and foster the art of baking both now and for the future generation.