Breads prepared by Team USA 2010 during the Louis LeSaffre Cup at the International Baking Industry Expo last year.

Last month, the Bread Bakers Guild Team USA won first place at the Sigep Bread Cup in Rimini, Italy. The competition included teams from Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Slovenia. The Italian team was awarded second place, and Australia placed third. The Sigep Cup is an international invitational baking competition whose objective is to actively promote, celebrate and expand the art of artisan baking within Italy and throughout the world.

Team USA members included team captain Harry Peemoeller, Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte, N.C.; David DeCesare, Hearth Wood-Fired Bread, Plymouth, Mass.; John Tredgold, Semifredi’s, Alameda, Calif.; and Michael Rhoads, New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt. The competition team was drawn from the nine-member Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2010. Other members are Jeremy Gadouas, Eric Guilbert, Roger Gural, Steven Sands and Michael Zakowski.

At the Sigep Bread Cup, team members each had a specialty area but worked together to compete in four categories: traditional bread, healthy bread, cake and artistic bread piece. In addition to the overall first place finish, Team USA also won the traditional bread category with its walnut levain submission. Other category winners include: best baked dessert, Italy; best healthy bread, Australia; best showpiece, Germany; and production award, Great Britain.

The winning team is not eligible to compete in next year’s Sigep Bread Cup, but instead will be invited to conduct baking demonstrations on the trade show floor.