Sourdough pioneer Laurent Boillon has been named as EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

The French-born Laurent Bakery founder impressed the judges with his innovative approach to sourdough.

Laurent said he had created and developed a new way to supply top-quality sourdough products supermarkets in frozen form.

“Nobody in the world was doing fully baked frozen  bread,” he said.

“Our bread does not dry. So you can put it two or three times back in the oven – it becomes soft again.”

When receiving the award Laurent said it gave him the opportunity to reflect on himself.

“You’ve given me time to reflect on myself – I never did.”

RedBalloon founder Naomi Simson, who was chair of the independent judging panel, said the quality of all the entries for the awards was a true testament to Australia’s entrepreneurial spirit.

“These awards are about seeing opportunities where others don’t. Laurent has demonstrated truly innovative ways of scaling artisanal, delicious food and making them available for everyone,” she said according to startupdaily.net.

“He has developed markets abroad and at home, and he has an incredible growth and trajectory.”

EY Leader for Clients and Industries, Oceania said, “success stories like Laurent’s show us that great ideas can come from anywhere, but need capital, capability, and confidence to create global impact.”

“For our nation to truly harness the impact of entrepreneurs, our policy settings must be updated to foster innovation and boost productivity. Modernising the tax system for research and development, implementing intellectual property incentives, and enhancing business cashflow are some ways to help turn Australia’s bold ideas into commercial success.”

The first Laurent Bakery was opened in South Yarra in the 1993 by French-born baker Laurent Boillon, going on to become a Melbourne institution. The bakery now offers French-inspired cakes, bread and pastries at 15 stores across the city in addition to supplying more than 1000 supermarkets with artisan breads in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Laurent Bakery Group was acquired by French bakery giant Bridor earlier this year in a move that was estimated to place the company’s value at around $650 million.