Wild Fermentation
Le Pain – l’envers du décorArtisan Baking Across AmericaSmall cakes – From Fondant Fancies to FlorentinesThe Bread BuildersOpening up the crumbCrisp, golden, light, salty & oilyA baguette by any other name……Bake class: cookie cravings
Australia: Melbourne: bakeries
Drawing up my personal list of Melbourne’s ‘top 10’ bakeries was a tough job. Not because ten great places are hard to find, but because there are now so many bakeries in the metropolis which deserve to be included – bakeries which are turning out bread and cakes which are noteworthy by any standard. I’ve [...]
I took these photos when Loafer was owned and run by brothers Georg and Antoine von Baich and their family, two Canadians who were such a vital part of good baking in Melbourne during their years there.
Though they’ve now moved to Europe to pursue new ambitions, I understand that Loafer continues to produce some excellent [...]
On past trips to Melbourne, Dan’s been delighted to hold bread making classes and other events at The Green Grocer, an outstanding organic cafe, food and wine retailer and cookery school in North Fitzroy, in the heart of the ‘good bread belt’ – Dench Bakers, Loafer Bread and Natural Tucker are all just around the [...]
When we visited, this bakery was known as ‘Crust & Crumbs’, but we understand it has since re-opened as the ‘Vlaamsch Broodhuys’.
Baking in a big city is fine; it has a ‘buzzy’ urgency. Chef customers hot on the phone, whining the instant they see anything unusual with the delivery. Shoppers spinning in the centre of the store with bored expressions and dismissive hand flicks while moaning, “God, this place has lost its edge, I knew we [...]
The Essential Ingredient in Melbourne’s Prahran Market is more than just a retailer, it’s a place which really celebrates the joy to be found in cooking.
Under one roof, you’ll find not only an outstanding selection of cookware, cookbooks and ingredients, but also a cookery school which is really well-equipped and which offers an interesting range [...]
There is something about excellence that stands out like a beacon. Some bakeries jump out at you, demanding attention and captivating passers by from the pavement. I guess I do judge books by covers, and expect shop windows, lighting, display and even the look of the customers going in and out, to tell me just [...]
So Tyler Brulee, the London FT newspaper’s style colossus and globetrotting “bun lover”, listed this Melbourne bakery next to New York’s Dean & Deluca and England’s ethically aware Waitrose supermarkets in a round-up for the New York Times in 2005. British chef Sally Clarke described its founder to me as “like a British [...]
It was after one of my regular trips to Melbourne, promoting my book The Handmade Loaf, teaching classes and meeting local bakers. To be truthful, I returned rather depressed about the plateau we’d reached in the UK – some fine baking here, but little that’s remarkable. We must raise our game, and of course we [...]
I’m regularly asked what bakeries might be particularly worth a visit when in Paris. Very briefly, and in no particular order, this is my ‘top 10′, a personal and far from exhaustive list.
