On the rise: Melbourne's neighbourhood bakeries bringing a fresh approach

While the smell of fresh bread sliding out of the oven is both comforting and evocative, the process of creating it takes skill and perseverance.

Baking bread is a serious business, and it’s no surprise bakers are often evangelical about their methods. As many of us discovered during last year’s lockdowns, kneading, mixing and getting dough to rise is no easy matter.

While we experimented with the mysteries of sourdough and yeast, our respect increased for the people who run the artisan bakeries in our neighbourhoods. Here are three exciting bakeries that emerged as local heroes.

The Flour House – watch the action

Hiding in the back streets of Highett is this gem of a bakery, possibly the only one in Melbourne that mills its own flour. 

Owner Damian Malone is passionate about local ingredients and sources grains from Victorian farms, including Sharkey’s, near Bacchus Marsh.

He and his team bake seven to 10 different breads daily. The weekly list includes a house-milled biodynamic spelt sourdough, a sprouted wheat and sunflower (single farm flour), and a sourdough made with Two Brothers apple cider. Of course, his mouth-watering pastries must get a mention too.

“I’m trying to keep the bread as natural as I can,” Malone says. “I’ve got a grain-to-table approach, and I do everything by hand.”

After years working as a chef in Michelin-starred restaurants in London, Malone did a stint at the San Francisco Baking Institute. Ever so slightly obsessed with bread, he opened the Flour House in 2019.  

Despite the stress of the pandemic, bread sales tripled with often more than 50 people lining up outside, and coffee sales went from 60 to 230 a day. The pandemic put the business on the map locally, he says. “COVID brought everyone back to basics and a simpler approach to life.”

Part of the attraction of The Flour House is its location in a warehouse with two internal windows – one framing the bakers at work and the other highlighting the traditional flour mill.

The bread here is not rushed, taking three days to sprout and is made following traditional sourdough methods. You can watch the action from the cafe, which offers simple fare such as baguettes, croissants and Rueben sandwiches.

The next exciting step in Malone’s plan is a new Italian oven, which will allow people to watch the bread rising.

The Flour House, 3 Graham Road, Highett

theflourhouse.com.au

To be Frank – all about respect

When Franco Villalva opened To be Frank bakery in a Collingwood back street, he was initially overwhelmed by the challenge. Using his second language in a new country, the Argentinian-born baker relied on word of mouth to draw in his customers. 

But it didn’t take long for locals to discover his long fermentation, naturally leavened, breads made from organic or sustainable ingredients. Not only is the bread full of flavour, but it’s easier to digest, too, he says.

A former pastry chef, Villalva is a passionate supporter of the “respectus panis” (respect bread) movement, popular in France, where bread is made using a tiny amount of yeast, less salt, quality flours and long fermentation at room temperature.

Villalva explains the 18-hour process breaks down the gluten and makes bread that is flavoursome and easy to digest. 

“The respectus panis bread is healthier than sourdough,” he says. “It’s a very soft bread; it’s not chewy.”

The bakery produces 12-15 different breads each day, some using the “respectus panis” method and some sourdough. He mostly uses organic and biodynamic local flour – about 20 different types – keeping white flour for pastries (yes, his pain au chocolat is hard to resist).

People discovered the bakery and cafe during their lockdown strolls, and there were often long queues for fresh bread. 

The cafe side of things, which he runs with partner Lauren Parsons, is also thriving. 

The exciting news for those south of the Yarra is that Villalva is teaming up with another business to open a bakery, Farine by Frank, in South Melbourne. 

To be Frank, 1/4 Bedford Street, Collingwood

tobefrankbakery.com.au

Baker Bleu – the bread mothership

From a hole-in-the-wall shop in Elsternwick, Baker Bleu won over the locals with its distinctive dark-crusted, caramel-tinged sourdough loaves. 

“People walking past could smell bread baking, and we built a business off that,” says Mike Russell, who opened the bakery with his wife Mia in 2016.

Word quickly spread about the amazing taste and texture, and soon, top restaurants such as Attica, Cutler and Co, and Di Stasio were queuing up too.

Last year, just before the pandemic started, Baker Bleu moved to larger premises in Caulfield North with a new oven and lots of space for their bread’s 48-hour fermentation process using wild yeast.

Russell says: “We wanted to retain the magic of baking bread on site.”

That magic will spread further afield soon with a new croissant studio in Hawksburn village, due to open in May. The space will have more of a designer edge, thanks to IF Architecture, and croissants will be baked on-site.

“Caufield will be the bread mothership and Hawksburn the croissant mothership,” Russell says.

Originally from Sydney, Russell learnt his trade at top places such as Baker D Chirico, Bourke Street Bakery and Iggy’s (Sydney). 

Baking bread here is a three-day process, and ancient grains such as spelt, Khorasan wheat and buckwheat are sometimes used. As part of his ethical ethos, he sources flour locally from Tuerong Farm. On Fridays, there are queues for challah, but the bagels and dark European-style breads have a dedicated following.  

Russell says despite the uncertainty of 2020, the bakery grew busier, supported by local families.

Always keen to share tips, he recently did a live-streamed Instagram cooking class with chef Shane Delia of Providoor.

Baker Bleu, 119-121 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North

bakerbleu.com.au