Quick Note: This blog post is written by Luke (Ash's partner) and is about his top 10 favourite country bakeries in Victoria, Australia! Pinterest Pins, editing, and SEO by Ash!
G’day friends and fam! How’s it going? This post is about my top ten favourite country bakeries! For my Australian friends and fam out there, I was inspired to write this by last week’s Dessert Masters, because they were paying tribute to classic Australian country sweets but doing them all Masterchef-y, you know the drill if you’ve ever watched those cooking shows. But it got me thinking about how much I love a good country bakery.
Country bakeries are an Australian institution. They are the ultimate way to break up a road trip. They have everything from fresh bread, sandwiches, rolls, pies, pasties, sausage rolls, and every single sweet under the sun, so there is something for most people (a lot of popular country bakeries will have veggie, vegan/plant-based, but if you do have dietary requirements, please choose carefully). A good country bakery can singlehandedly put a country town on the map. Most towns will have at least one bakery, and a lot of them still make their breads, pastries and other goodies the old-fashioned way. Now I’ve got nothing against fast food chains or trendy cafes, but as a born and bred city slicker, these are literally everywhere in Melbourne. When you’re in the bush, at lunchtime, it should be law that you have to pull into a country bakery.
Anyway, that’s my sales pitch for country bakeries. So, here’s my top ten country bakeries!
My Top 10 Country Bakeries in Victoria, Australia - by Luke!
As a kid growing up, we used to do a lot of day trips up into the Macedon Ranges. Living in the inner northwestern suburbs, it was on the right side of the city for us, and on the Calder Freeway, you could get most places in an hour or less. We’d often drive up Mount Macedon and go for a walk around the memorial cross or one of the other tracks along there, then we would continue over the hill until we arrived in Woodend, a quaint town nestled in among the hills and forest. Bourkie’s is on the main street on the left-hand side if you are coming from Melbourne, right on the corner of the street that takes you out to the footy ground. I don’t know if it’s because it always seems so cold in Woodend, but the pies always hit the spot. My go to from here is usually a steak and mushroom or steak and pepper, that said, I have had the plain pie and the steak and potato and they are delicious, but there is something so hearty and warming about a steak and mushroom pie on a freezing cold day. And it’s not a trip to Bourkie’s without grabbing a vanilla slice (plus a box to take home for your family). You cannot go wrong. I will also say, I have tried some other sweets here, like hedgehog and caramel slice, and these are amazing too.
Gaffney’s Bakery, Heathcote (also a small pie kitchen in Seymour)
Ah, Gaffney’s. This is probably the country bakery that I’ve been to the most over the years. It’s located in Heathcote, which is just over halfway between Melbourne and Echuca. Up until 3-4 years ago (2021 I think?), Gaffney’s was right in the centre of Heathcote, on the main street right opposite the footy ground, where there is a picnic area and public amenities. It was a typical size country bakery renowned for their gourmet pies, as well as their traditional ones. They’ve won many awards and their popularity grew, so much so that when the old Heathcote Hotel (about 300m towards Melbourne) was knocked down, they bought the block and built a bigger bakery on there, and they’re just as busy as they were when they were at the old location. So, has the upsizing affected the quality of their food? Definitely not. Their pies are still amazing, and their sweets are very yummy. My personal favourite is the Beef and Shiraz pie. An absolute winner.
Okay, you may be thinking, Strathmore is a suburb of Melbourne, why on earth does it count as having a country bakery? Well, because it captures the essence of a country bakery. Their pies are excellent, and they have a range of options to suit most dietary requirements. It’s also Ash’s favourite bakery in Australia, because it has a steak and cheese pie (or mince and cheese as it’s referred to in NZ), which is her favourite pie. As someone who has grown up with a plain mince pie being the standard, I’m not really sure why there aren’t more bakeries that do mince and cheese pies. They’re really yummy, and Gusto’s mince and cheese is no exception. They also do an amazing coffee scroll here.
Country Cob is an Australian success story. Their head baker is originally from Cambodia, and they have a range of gourmet pies with a southeast Asian spin on them. That said, their “traditional” pies are pretty darn good too and have won a bunch of awards. They also have a more than adequate vanilla slice for you snot block afficionados.
Beechworth Bakery (multiple locations)
With bakeries in Beechworth, Bendigo, Echuca, Healesville and Yackandandah, just to name a few, the Beechworth Bakery is the benchmark for country bakery enterprise. On any given day, these bakeries will do a roaring trade. It’s known for its signature pie, the Ned Kelly pie, as well as its beestings. The Beechworth Bakery in Healesville is the perfect place to stop to break up a trip to the Yarra Valley, or if you are pressing on through the famous Black Spur on the Maroondah Highway heading up towards the Victorian High Country. The Beechworth Bakery in Echuca is the perfect place to drop in for a milkshake on a blistering hot summer’s day walking around the Port of Echuca. But of course, nothing beats the original.
Those who know the Vietnamese bakeries typical of Melbourne suburbs like Footscray or Springvale would feel very much at home here. Where Gusto is a country bakery in the suburbs, Rye Bakehouse is a suburban bakery in a country town. Not only are the pies yummy, but you can also pick yourself up a roll or maybe even a cheeky banh mi. Plus the staff are so friendly.
Bridgewater-on-Loddon is a small, sleepy town about 20 minutes west-northwest of Bendigo, on the Calder Highway heading towards Mildura. It also houses one of the (until recently) best kept secrets in Victoria – it’s famous vanilla slice. Located a very easy two-hour drive from Melbourne, it is well worth a day trip to get one. The vanilla slice has everything you want in a vanilla slice – sweet vanilla icing, flaky pastry and delicious vanilla custard. And for all you savoury tooths out there, there’s the usual fare to cover you as well.
Trentham is a small town on the way to Daylesford, well worth a visit to its namesake Trentham Falls, not to mention Redbeard Bakery. One of the few bakeries to still use an old-fashioned scotch oven, they are renowned for their amazing bread, as well as other yummy pastries and sweet treats.
Another bakery that’s on the list for its bread. The smell of bread as you walk into Lancefield bakery is intoxicating. This would often be a stop for us on family trips to pick up a loaf or two as we were passing through. The high tin loaf is a definite winner.
Another well kept secret. Birchip is off most tourist trails, even some of those in the Mallee. It’s main claim to fame is that it has a Mallee Bull in the centre of the town, Australian men might refer to a tough, hardworking man as being “as strong as a Mallee Bull”. The Mallee is a very tough environment, with its extreme summer heat and very little rain for most of the year, so the people that live there have a reputation for having a lot of intestinal fortitude. Sharp’s bakery, in the centre of the town, makes an amazing vanilla slice. What is interesting about it, is that the pastry is more of a shortcrust, as opposed to most vanilla slices which are made with puff pastry. The biscuity texture of the shortcrust does really well with the icing and custard, although I have to say that I would put others ahead of it.
Honourable mention: King’s Bakery, Hamilton
My mum grew up in a small town near Hamilton, and she and my grandparents always used to talk about King’s pies. I definitely know why. While I have only been here once, King’s pies have the best pastry I have ever tasted on a pie.
Luke!
PS from Ash - can't wait for Luke to try stuff from the Darfield bakery in NZ because I think that's an epic country bakery!
Let us know in the comments which bakery you would stop off to first on an epic Victorian road trip!
They all sound amazing. Great article Luke!