The locals call this their “secret bakery”, but it’s way too good not to share with the rest of the Sunshine Coast.
Be Nourished Community Bakery, on Kayleigh Drive in Buderim, has brought a taste of European culture to the region.
Offering traditional sourdoughs, pastries, cakes, quiches and sausage rolls, bakery owner and chef Rupert Craddock’s passion is to bake wholesome bread with soul and substance.
“All my bread I make is made by hand, no machinery, just my bare hands, lots of time and good ingredients,” he said.
The bakery is open from 8am until 11-30am on Wednesday and from 8am until midday on Saturday.
“I make cakes, pastries, bread, Portuguese tarts and one of our most popular items is the dark chocolate and tahini cookie,” Mr Craddock said.
“I make a handmade puff pastry with wholegrain flour, quiches and sausage rolls keeping a really rustic, homemade, wholesome feeling to all the products.”
Born in northwest England, Mr Craddock has been a chef for 15 years, spending the past decade based in France and Switzerland, where he fermented his own love of traditional baking.
“There is a culture over there, especially in France, with all the little boulangeries and bakeries,” he said.
“It’s quite a nice part of their culture and I wanted to replicate that with a small-time bakery supplying to local people freshly made bread every day.”
A joint venture between Mr Craddock and his partner Anna Gunnel, who works as a physiotherapist, the couple has a community focus in mind and know their customers by name.
“That’s one of the things we really wanted to focus on. People these days really want to know who’s making their food,” Mr Craddock said.
“Customers can come in and speak to me and they can see me making the bread right in front of them.
“I know who I’m selling the food to and that’s a really nice connection.”
Be Nourished Community Bakery sources ethically and sustainably grown organic grain and other ingredients from small producers to create its range of products, including traditional sourdough.
“Sourdough is a bit of a mysterious thing really, it is a bit of an art form,” Mr Craddock said.
“It’s a very traditional way of making bread.
“You start with three ingredients – water, flour and little bit of salt – and 24 hours later you get a beautiful golden-brown loaf of bread.”
He said the long and slow fermentation ensured a great depth in flavour and improved digestive and nutritional qualities.
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Mr Craddock wakes up before 3.30 each morning to ensure there is fresh bread out of the oven when the shop opens two days a week.
“We get up pretty early, before sunrise,” he said.
“We prepare and shape all the bread and prepare them to get in the oven.
“By 8am we have lots of fresh items out of the oven – there’s lots of nice smells.”
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In the 18 months since opening Mr Craddock said the business was slowly growing, in a way that aligned with the couple’s community focus.
“We are keeping it small,” Mr Craddock said.
“Our mission is to provide to the local community, not to grow and expand beyond our means.
“We want to keep it sustainable and provide some integrity and good quality products to people.”
To minimise packaging, the bakery upcycles chocolate boxes, milk cartons and flour bags to make packaging for its tasty goodies and offers an online ordering system for customers to have bread made to order and ready to be picked up fresh in store.
Fore more, see www.be-nourished-wholefoods.com.
