It must be 1976ish and I would have been about 7 years old. At some point a conversation has taken place between my rather eccentric but absolutely fabulous grandmother Jo-Jo in the back garden of our house, where together we plotted to open a bakery in the garage.
I have no idea how this idea came to be or why it seemed like a good idea, especially as I don’t ever remember Jo-Jo cooking, let alone baking. But this is one of my earliest and happiest memories and somewhere, deep in the recesses of my heart, this idea has laid dormant... that is, until now!
Our sourdough ‘mother’, who we call Jane, was born in 1999 in Indonesia. Ali, our two young children and I were living in Bali, and I was working as the Head Chef of a boutique resort called Amankila. I decided to make sourdough; my fascination in the world of sourdough – the taste, texture and bubbling starter – having come from one of my favourite employers Tony Papas, owner of Brasserie Bread, Sydney.
I found locally grown black grapes, dusty with wild yeast bloom, at the markets and mixed these with filtered rainwater… and Jane was born.
Fast forward to 2023 and we find ourselves back in Bali, when we visited my ex-team at Amankila. I walked into the bakery and asked my Head Baker Bharata, still there 25 years later, if they still make sourdough, ‘Yes Chef’. I then asked if they still use our original 'mother', ‘Yes Chef, there she is on the shelf’.
And there she was, sweet and sour like yeasty bread, alive and bubbling just as I left her... Hello Jane!
Inspired by my reconnection with Jane and wanting to share my bread beyond family and friends, we decided it was the time to open our Sourdough Bakery at Balabudgee, a one-day-a-week micro bakery serving artisan sourdough.
FIRST JOB, BUY OVEN! Our micro-bakery-bread-oven arrived six weeks later, stainless steel and gleaming with three beautiful stone decks. She’s a beauty!
I can’t say exactly how Jane found her way into Australia, but let’s just say she loves living at Balabudgee and helping to raise bread for our family, friends and community.
We hope you will enjoy our sourdough as much as we enjoy making it for you.
With love,
Toby & Ali x