Sourdough September 2026 review

Once again, the Real Bread Campaign’s annual, international celebration of genuine sourdough and people who make it saw bread lovers around the globe joining the fun.

As well as people from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wals, we heard from folk in Aruba, Australia, Austria, Canada, Curacao, Finland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Libya, USA and Venezuela.

Did you join the fun somewhere else?
Please email us and we’ll add your country to the list. 

What went on

Crwst in Ceredigion seized the dough with their spin on this year’s simple sourdough swap theme. Throughout the month, the bakery invited shoppers to bring a receipt for a loaf bought anywhere in exchange for a discounted genuine sourdough loaf at £2.

Campaign co-ordinator Chris Young and past Campaign ambassador Peter Cook (pictured above) gave a talk on sourdough vs. sourfaux to around 50 people as the guests of Slow Food Ludlow Marches at the Ludlow Food Festival.

We also celebrated the 10^th anniversay of our recipe book, Slow Dough: Real Bread.

Plus...

What about your business?
Did you help your customers join the fun? We’d also love to see and share photos of people getting involved at bakeries, mills, baking schools, community groups…

What you said on socials

Here are just some of what people told us they were up to for Sourdough September:

@heritagebakeryox: Our Sourdough September is going BIG! ?? We’ve made a giant sourdough to celebrate and help get people talking about real bread, and we’re taking it to Newbury Show this weekend! ?

@thedoorstepbaker: It’s going great. I’ve been giving out free sourdough starter to help get people baking their own. At least 15 pots given away so far. Tomorrow is Cleobury Farmers Market! I’m also running a sourdough making workshop. One space left a week Saturday ☺️

@bobsbreadbakery Offering starter pots and instructions. At least one impressive loaf produced from those according to photo received!

@theculinarykiwibird I made a purple yam sourdough and a delicious hefty rye and gave a lot away to curious folk, all the while taking the opportunity to talk about real bread and importantly, what role the campaign plays in helping the consumer make an informed decision.

@floatygoatkitchen Started making loaf after loaf again after a hot summer and I’m once again offering 50% off on my sourdough starter and 5 page guide ? I’ll also be giving away some starters this week!

@homemade_by_milly It’s going great! Making at least 2 sourdough breads a week! Real Bread for the win!

@nelliedenata I’ve just started out making sourdough bread after a career change. Baguettes and pain de campagne are my favourites so far. I’ve also walked out of a supermarket in protest and refused to buy their bread! Gifting bread and sharing my sourdough baby with anyone that asks! It was free to me, so it’s free to gift!

Hana's Sourdough Sold many loaves and other treats and entered every order in to a prize draw. Winner was announced today winning a loaf of sourdough and 4 sourdough buns?

What about you?
In what ways did you join the Sourdough September celebrations?

Media coverage

While it’s getting harder to grab media interest in this ‘mature’ initiative (it’s being going strong for 14 years) with zero PR budget, we did secure coverage by: My Weekly, CBS News (USA), Grimsby Telegraph, Hull Daily Mail, Chatting Food Magazine and The Chiswick Calendar.

Spotted other mentions?
Have you seen any media coverage of Sourdough September (or the Real Bread Campaign more generally) that we missed, or did you use this marketing opportunity we created to bag some for your business / initiative?

Missed it altogether?

Save the date for Sourdough September 2027 and in the meantime, get planning for Real Bread Week!