2014 County Fair entries
All baked today and delivered to the Lake County (Ohio) Fair tonight. I must have set the bar last year for breads, because there were more yeast breads entered this year, including some in a couple of my categories. The judging should be interesting, because some of the competition looks pretty good. I made 7-grain honey whole wheat, Polish sourdough rye, French baguettes (Black & white Epi style), Italian free form loaf, Egg bread, and Cuban bread (Pan Cubano). I had some dough left over and made rye sandwich thins, egg sausage rolls and small loaves of rye and 7-grain wheat. I was in the kitchen from 9 till 5 just dealing with bread, doing my best to make sure the appearance was the best I could do. We're going to the fair Tuesday night for the baked goods auction, rain or shine. Wish me luck!
Beautiful bake and those epi look amazing! Good luck and let us know how it goes!
eli
Bring on the competition, you're a contender. Best of Luck!
Fresh Lofians have been doing well in county fairs of late and i would think you will too. Cross your fingers!
Oh my, what a beautiful sortiment of loafs you have on show!
Wow, that is really wonderful work.
How do you manage to get the baguettes to the judges soon enough after baking? I would think the crust would have degraded a bit and the texture of the crumb would have changed enough for the baguettes to be less stellar than you would like. I have considered entering breads in our local fair, but figured the quality would have gone downhill to the point I wouldn't want the judges to even sample them.
Everyone has the same issues to deal with, so the crust and crumb degrades equally for everyone. The Epi style of baguette gets a better point value for its appearance, particularly with the flour & poppy seed toppings (aka Black & White). I think that gives me an edge in that category. I also made the baguettes late in the afternoon to extend its freshness, and they were the last to be bagged. The judges take all this into consideration, and everyone is on equal footing.
I would encourage you to enter your local fair and give it a shot. If you're so fussy that you won't let someone taste your bread within 24 hours, you're being too critical on yourself. I get compliments on my breads that have sat on my kitchen counter for 2-3 days, so your breads with less than 24 hours of age should be just fine.
I have never entered anything in a county fair, so I have no idea what to expect or how items get judged. I certainly value your experience, and obviously you have had good results. My issue was not about MY fussiness, but was aimed at the tasters and what they base their judgements on. I do care what local people think of my bread and other baked goods, but only because I give everything I bake to friends and neighbors, as well as a few select people with whom I do business. I would hate to give them something that wasn't high quality.
i will give serious thought to entering the competition next year. Thanks again for your insight.
Went to the fair tonight and got the results of the judging...
French baguettes (Epi style) and Polish sourdough rye took First Place ribbons.
Egg bread, Italian & Cuban bread took Second Place ribbons.
7-Grain honey whole wheat took a Third Place ribbon.
Everything got a ribbon, so that's a big plus. Thanks for the encouragement!
I hoped you would do well with Polish SD Rye. Well done and Happy Baking Joe.