Two venues are representing Merseyside at the National Bakery AwardsSharon Goldman at Rough Hand MadeSharon Goldman at Rough Hand Made(Image: Colin Lane)

Two Merseyside bakeries are in the running to be named the best in the country at the National Bakery Awards. The awards celebrate excellence in the industry, recognising outstanding bakeries and everything that makes them unique.

In addition to top-tier bakeries, the National Bakery Awards celebrates social enterprise bakeries and the people behind them with two special awards: Young Baker of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Bakery. The event will take place on November 25, with two bakeries nominated in Merseyside.

The first nomination for Merseyside is Rough Hand Made, which was renowned on Penny Lane when it opened in 2014. After four successful years, owners Carlos and Sharon Goldman decided to open their business in a new home on the Royal Albert Dock, where it remains today.

Sharon previously told the ECHO: “It’s a bakery, but it’s really an experience. Our customers don’t just come in to buy a loaf of bread, it’s somewhere where all of your senses wake up. It’s something special and different.”

Sharon Goldman at her shopSharon Goldman at her shop(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Originally from Buenos Aires in Argentina, Carlos’s South American heritage literally provides the soundtrack to their daily routine. Carlos said: “When you come inside our bakery you can smell the smells coming out of the ovens and hear the music – and you see everything being prepared in front of you in our open-plan kitchen and produced from scratch.”

Rough Hand Made is also famous around Liverpool for its pitta bread that customers are known to order in advance to make sure they get their hands on the baked goodness.

The second nominee in this year’s National Bakery Awards is The Wild Loaf. Since opening on Sefton Street, Dingle, in 2022, customers are travelling all over the region for its sourdough bread, sandwiches and pastries.

Jessica Doyle at The Wild Loaf Bakery on Sefton Street, LiverpoolJessica Doyle at The Wild Loaf Bakery on Sefton Street, Liverpool(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

However, business partners Jessica Doyle and Emily Sandeman have run the bakery since 2017. The bakery appeared on BBC2’s The Hairy Bikers Go West last year, with the pair giving a mini tutorial to Si King and the late Dave Myers and sharing some of their ingredients and techniques.

Co-owner Emily previously told the ECHO: “Since opening we have gone from strength to strength. Our philosophy is good service, good produce and love.

“We are always trying to work more ethically and source our stuff locally. We are working more closely with farmers too. Everything is made with sourdough pastry and every week we change the counter with new items.”

National Bakery Awards 2025 North West nominees

Cheshire

  • The Bear Bakery
  • Bread Bin
  • Chatwins

Cumbria

  • Brysons of Keswick
  • Lovingly Artisan
  • MoreArtisan

Greater Manchester

  • Barbakan Delicatessen
  • The Flat Baker
  • Pollen Bakery

Lancashire

  • Broughton Village Bakery
  • Martins the Bakers
  • Sayers the Bakers

Merseyside

  • Rough Hand Made
  • The Wild Loaf