Back to the Bread

Finally made it out to continue my search for the best sourdough in Sydney.

Today I stopped into Bourke Street Bakery at Barangaroo. Bourke Street is a bit of an institution in Sydney, with a dozen locations across the city. I have been to a few—including the original on Bourke Street in Surry Hills—but I don't think I've ever had a croissant or sourdough from them before.

I got to the bakery around 10:30, and while Barangaroo is usually a pretty bustling working district, it was relatively quiet, given that many in Sydney are still working from home. The shop at Barangaroo is pretty small, so despite the street being quiet, there was a bit of a queue as only two people can be in the shop at a time.

Impressions of the bakery were:

• tailored to business people ducking in for a quick cup of coffee and pastry
• nice displays of various baked goods
• the staff is very friendly; I asked for recommendations on the best sourdough

They have a wide selection of sourdough loafs to choose from, which threw me for a bit of a loop. After a bit of a debate, I decided to go with the standard sourdough, after all, I should be consistent in my comparison, and also the loaf looked great. As is the game plan, I ordered a croissant from the case as well.

Croissant

$3.50

Look and feel

A reasonably sized croissant; not as large as Piock, but also not a uniform shape. Gorgeous golden colour.

First bite

Very flaky on the outside, but soft and pillow-y on the inside. A little bit sweet, in a nice way. Pretty good.

Overall thoughts

A nice croissant. Simple, easy, a bit sweeter than the others I have tried. Not as big or filling as the Piock one, but also not as expensive, so perfect as a quick snack. Worth grabbing if you wander by a BSB and are hungry (and like croissants).

Bourke Street croissant rating: 3/5

Large sourdough

$7.50

Look and feel

Pretty doughy and dense with very little crusting. There's a lot of give when you squeeze the loaf and it's definitely not as crusty as the last two loaves. Very light baking lends a very golden colour to the overall loaf. Very easy to cut as there's no hard crust to get through.

First bite

Dense and chewy. Very mild flavour. Easy to eat, though nothing really complex going on.

Overall thoughts

It's a good, generic loaf of bread. I like the flavour and texture, though a bit more crust might have been good so it wasn't all one consistency. Still, nice eating and perfect on its own, or with some butter.

Bourke Street Bakery sourdough rating: 3/5

Not my first time at Bourke Street Bakery, but my first time having the sourdough and croissant. Are they life-changing? No. But does bread need to be life changing? No. Their other baked goods are great too. All up, they are consistent and good quality at a reasonable price.

Bourke Street Bakery overall rating: 3/5