Offaly woman Rose Egan was crowned the winner of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, which took place at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois this afternoon.
Supported by Euronics and in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA), the annual competition is a highlight of the Ploughing, and draws a heaving crowd year after year. This year saw applicants apply from across the country.
Eight semi finalists were chosen from the applicants, and faced off in two groups of four on 17 and 18 September.
The final was held today, 19 September, in the National Brown Bread Baking Competition tent at the National Ploughing Championships where Rose stepped up to the challenge and emerged victorious, commended by the judges for her brown bread's traditional appearance and perfect texture.
Rose will take home a cash prize of €5,000 and a NEFF oven, with the three finalists Martin Malone from Castleknock, Co. Dublin, Noreen Collins from Clonakilty, Co. Cork and Mary Rose Power from Kentstown, Co. Meath all walking away with a €500 Euronics gift card.
"I have no words", she said. "I was just up there and I said, Is it me? Is it really me they're talking about? I just couldn't believe it because I had another contestant's name in my head and I thought, I have to deal with it."
Walking to her car with her winning brown bread in hand, she said she felt like "the Rose of Tralee" as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. "I'm just so, so proud."
"Being a country girl", Rose spotted the call out for applicants in the Farmer's Journal and when she got through the first round of applicants she was "over the moon", feeling the support of the school where she works as a Special Needs Assistant "rally behind" her.
"I never in a million years would I expect that I'd win this. It means a lot to me, because I bake quite a bit, so the oven will get a lot of use."
As a keen lover of agricultural shows, Rose said she always baked something to contribute to them, and picked up tips and tricks over the years.
Baking in the tent this week, however, couldn't be further away from home baking.
"It's really hard work because you go the first day, you bring all your ingredients and then you go back and forth, back and forth and do the same thing again. You get up early to travel and you're trying to mind your energy." Add to that, the pressure of baking in a new oven and all of the contestants faced a serious challenge.
As for her winning recipe, Rose said that it is a "basic recipe" at its core, with many tweaks added over the years. "I would be in the shop and if I had some homemade bread in the shop, I would turn over the back and I say, What's it being put in that now? And then I write that down and I'd go on there and try and make a copy of it", she laughed.
Describing her brown bread, Rose said: "I like it crunchy. I like it nutty. Seedy, but not really seedy. Well-coated. It has to have a flavour as well."
All good bakes have a little secret ingredient added, and Rose's is no different. Her trick? "I use a little bit of cream in my brown bread. It makes the texture soft enough, but not tacky. I like my brown bread light."
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