Six local bakers tested their skills in a new competition held on Saturday in Quyon, for which they had to produce bread using flour milled at the recently reopened Egan Mill. 

Participants picked up their locally-milled flour last week, and on Saturday morning returned to the historic site with their creations in hand, where they set them out for the public to judge, by vote, over the course of the morning. 

Key to the competition was that loaves had to contain at least 60 per cent Egan Mill flour. The prize for the most popular entrant was $500, with a promise that the winning recipe would be published on the mill’s flour bags. 

Mill co-owner Marc Bergeron said the idea for the competition really came out of a desire to discover and share a recipe that makes a tasty product with the mill’s flour. 

He explained that since there are no additives in Egan Mill flour, it doesn’t rise as easily as standard flour does. So, through this competition, he and wife, Isabelle Lajoie, hoped to find a recipe that could enable even the most novice of bakers to make something delicious with their pure and local flour, while promoting a healthy, local food option. 

Around 1:30 p.m., the results were in. 

Cathy Dolan’s recipe took first prize with a loaf that used 100 per cent Egan Mill flour. She was the only contestant to only use Egan Mill flour. 

Dolan said she has been using this recipe for about 20 years, and that it was actually handed down to her by a family friend who used to look after her as a kid when her parents would go on vacation.

“I remember her making bread, she would have bread all over the counter. Later in years, I asked her for it,” Dolan said. “And ever since then I’ve been making bread.”

Dolan said the original recipe owner has since passed away, but was sure she would be surprised to learn her recipe was going public after all these years

Dolan’s recipe will be printed on Egan Mill’s flour bags until next year’s competition. 

Bergeron said the long-term goal is to host the competition on the same day every year, to build a community tradition. He said they already have plans to expand next year’s event with music, alongside this year’s corn roast. 

He said next year’s baking challenge may feature a different grain, like rye, or a different product, like pizza crust. 

“Maybe in 20 years, we’ll have 20 recipes on the wall. I want to make a tradition,” Bergeron said. 

Bread bake-off’s winning recipe

This week, instead of publishing a recipe from Pontiac County Recipes, we are sharing Cathy Dolan’s winning bread recipe. Over the weekend, she claimed first place in a bread competition hosted by the Egan Mill in Quyon. The public voted her bread the tastiest, and with that honour she won $500, and having her recipe included with  every bag of Egan Mill flour for a year.

Dolan was the only contestant to use 100 per cent Egan Mill flour, when others used closer to the contest minimum of 60 per cent. 

Whether it was the flour, the recipe, or combination of both, it was agreed that Dolan made a damn good loaf of bread. 

Now, you can too.