THE Sourdough Cafe opened on 9 November, 2012, after extensive renovations of the shed that was previously occupied by The Cog, Bike Cafe.
With a lot of hard work, the Olives transformed a dusty bike shed into Mount Evelyn’s first artisan bakery and biodynamic/organic cafe.
Penny’s vision for the bakery cafe was inspired by her sourdough baking apprenticeship with Les Bartlett.
From Les, she learnt time-honoured baking methods, the craft of hand mixing doughs, hand-shaping loaves, slow fermentations of sourdough and wood-fired baking.
Les’s sourdough bakery is located in the permaculture village of Crystal Waters in Queensland.
Penny shared the principles of Les’s baking and they are the foundation of the Sourdough Cafe:
*Localised food production;
*Minimal use of machinery in food production;
*Only use the best, and the most necessary raw ingredients, such as biodynamic stoneground flour, filtered water, unrefined salt;
*Local employment, engage anyone who shows a keen interest and share knowledge;
*Use no chemicals in and around food production.
Working as a baker in some of Victoria’s most scenic locations added to Penny’s repertoire.
Intensive cake, pastry and bread baking with Pip Hayes at the Wye General Store at Wye River (Great Ocean Road); and stone-milling grain, baking wood-fired sourdough, and farm work with Thomas and Gabi Moritz on Boonderoo Farm in North East Victoria.
The success of the Sourdough Cafe can be attributed to our friendly customer service; consistently delicious, tasty and satisfying food and drinks; attention to making the best coffee in the region; using the best available raw ingredients that are biodynamic/organic/artisan/ethically produced; and the welcoming family atmosphere.
