Image: Bourke Street Bakery – supplied.
Author: MelodyMenu
With the ever-growing popularity of brunch in Australia, sourdough has come to resemble fancy bread often eaten à la avocado smash or with poached eggs. However, the actual make-up of sourdough means that it is much more than it seems, and is associated with certain health benefits as opposed to regular bread. Sourdough is exactly that – sour – because it is made from ingredients (usually water and yeast) that have been left to naturally ferment and, well, breathe.
This living bacteria is what gives sourdough it’s tang – but it’s also what makes it potentially better for you than other breads. The fermentation process breaks down the gluten in the flour, in essence pre-digesting the bread, thereby making it a terrific alternative for people with gluten sensitivities. Sourdough also happens to be my favourite form of breakfast alongside a cup of tea and a record in the morning, as well as being enjoyed alongside a whole troupe of soups, sides and starters – some recipes of which we’ll begin to go into next week. So with all of that in mind, here are some of the best places around for sourdough in Sydney.
Sonoma
32-44 Birmingham Street, Alexandria NSW 2015
A term synonymous with sourdough, Sonoma make stodgy and sustainably-made loaves that are continually cropping up in cafes across Sydney. Sonoma’s range is also stellar, from thick and substantial soy and linseed with soft-soaked soybeans, to ‘porridge’ sourdough with golden-baked oats. Because who wouldn’t want porridge folded through their bread?
The Dough Collective
G5/614 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
The Dough Collective’s take on sourdough is a total wildcard. Cut incredibly thick, their sourdough is surprisingly soft and springy, but still with trademark tanginess. Delicate and cloudlike, The Dough Collective challenge the assumption that you need to be dense and crusty to be sourdough.
Bourke Street Bakery
633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
This wouldn’t be a best-of-bakery list without Bourke Street. Known for their rustic loaves that line their floor-to-ceiling window displays, Bourke Street Bakery craft inviting and aromatic breads with a sourness that hits you in the sides of your mouth. Go there for the sausage rolls and cakes, stay for the sourdough.
Bakehouse on Wentworth
105 Wentworth Street, Blackheath NSW 2785
Lovingly tended and baked, the bread from Bakehouse on Wentworth is like no other. Simple and understated, their breads are imbued with a subtly sour goodness. With a colourful array of varieties on offer, including a Middle Eastern Fruit Loaf and Olive and Rosemary, Bakehouse on Wentworth have made a name for themselves as the best bakery in the Blue Mountains, across four locations.
Glenorie Bakery
930 Old Northern Road, Glenorie NSW 2157
For those further afield, Glenorie Bakery’s signature bread is a nod to the sourdough capital of the world, San Francisco. Truly, sourdough tastes so much fuller and richer there that as soon as you take it too far from the city, the flavours begin to dull. Alongside Glenorie’s San Franciscan Sourdough also comes a seven seeds variety, both of which are absolute treats of comfort and thick-set crust.
Where in the world have you had some delicious sourdough?
Melody Menu 