Rebel Bread Launches New Community Baking Competition

More delicious baked goods will be hitting the scene thanks to Zach Martinucci, owner of Rebel Bread and founder of the first-ever Denver Bake Fest. The community baking contest will take place on Saturday, October 7, from 10 a.m. to noon and doubles as Rebel Bread's five-year anniversary celebration. Anyone can sign up as a baker (space is limited), and tasting tickets are also available.

"We have great food events in Denver, but none that are baking specific or hosted by a bakery," says Martinucci. "Inspirationally, if it works, I would love to grow it year after year as a festival with demos and more ways for people and bakers to connect."

In fact, Martinucci got his start in professional baking after entering a similar competition while attending the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017. The event was dubbed Spoon UCLA: The Great College Bake Off and was hosted by Spoon University, an online food magazine intended for college students. "I had just started baking sourdough based on my friends' personalities, which I called Persona Loaves, and it was really encouraging to share what I was baking with people I never met and get feedback," says Martinucci, who made bread based on characters from the show Westworld for that competition. "It made me feel like I was taking baking more seriously, and two months later, I decided to go to baking school."

Inspired by that experience, he developed the idea for the Denver Bake Fest while on a hike earlier this year. The goal, says Martinucci, is to give home bakers, hobby bakers and aspiring bakery owners a chance to flex their sweet and doughy muscles and get feedback from random eaters. Just weeks after announcing the festival, seventy of the eighty or so competitor slots were filled.

"It's been overwhelming. We have never done this, and I didn't know what to expect," Martinucci says. "But it's working out how I hoped, and people are excited about the contest."

The festival includes six categories: bread, cake, pie, chocolate chip cookies, kids twelve and under, and baker's choice, which is a wildcard slot for those who really want to get creative. It's free to enter, but you have to bake around 24 servings.

Contestants have signed up to make an array of tasty delights, from pear-ginger pie to Biscoff s'more cake to lemon poppyseed macarons. Also look for tiramisu cheesecake, salted toffee chip cookies, onion and pancetta savory tart, rainbow unicorn pop-tarts, pandan coconut milk bread, and rosemary and green onion English muffins. The winners will get gift cards and bragging rights. The festival will take place in the parking lot in front of Rebel Bread, at 675 South Broadway. Guests of the Denver Bake Fest can buy single tasting tickets for $5, three for $10, or five for $15. The tasting tickets are available online via Rebel Bread's website, or can be purchased the day of the event at the bakery retail counter. While the festival is going on, Rebel Bread will also be open for business with its usual selection of sourdough, olive ciabatta, challah sandwich loaves, cacio e pepe croissants, morning buns and more.

"Doing the bakery competitions meant so much to me in retrospect, so I am glad other people can share that enthusiasm," Martinucci concludes. "Plus, it's a great day to come meet us and see what we do, and take home bread and pastries."