Before Jesus distributes the bread, John says that he gives thanks. The action would have been recognizable within Jewish meal practice rather than functioning as a magical formula that causes the miracle.
The ordinary act of thanking God precedes the extraordinary abundance.
Jewish tradition characteristically blesses God as the giver of food. The Greek verb eucharisteo means to give thanks, and related Gospel accounts can describe Jesus blessing the food. These expressions need not be treated as contradictory; the blessing is directed to God in thanksgiving for what he provides.
John later identifies the feeding location by referring to the place where the people ate bread 'after that the Lord had given thanks.'
The cultural practice keeps the sign rooted in Jewish devotion. Jesus receives and distributes food in conscious thanksgiving to the Father.
It also explains why Christian meal language later preserves the word Eucharist: the term grows from the ordinary biblical action of thanksgiving, even though John 6:11 itself simply describes Jesus giving thanks before the meal.