Lovers of all things sourdough have a new must-try spot in Stockton. Starter Stories is all about an appreciation for the art and science of sourdough baking and a passion for European-style baked goods.
When did you start making sourdough and how did you learn?
I have always loved food and flavours. I have been cooking and baking since I was a child and have always loved to explore different food cultures around the world. My heritage is Indian, but I grew up in East Africa. Plus, my husband is German, so as you can imagine, there’s a lot of good food around me! It was my husband Thomas who introduced me to the world of European style sourdough breads, and for me, it was love at first bite!
When we moved to Newcastle in 2016, we tried to find good European style breads, but there weren’t any bakeries who were doing that. I tried to teach myself how to bake good bread, but it’s not that easy – it takes time and patience.
A few years later, in 2020, Covid started creeping into Newcastle and the government had started to announce lockdowns. I was running a little boutique on Darby Street then, which obviously had to close for lockdowns. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands and decided to re-explore my passion for bread-baking.
A friend of mine was experimenting with a sourdough starter at that time, so I borrowed half a jar of her starter and started feeding and caring for it. I tried a lot of different online recipes, watched a lot of Youtube videos, and read the finer details of bread baking and all the many tips and tricks. I baked a lot, and kept experimenting. There were lots and lots of failures. But eventually, I started to understand it. And it was all just because I wanted to bake good healthy bread for myself. I never thought people would want to buy it!
At what point did you start selling it and how has that evolved?
So I was baking a lot, trying to learn. Tweaking the recipes ever so slightly, to see how the end result changes. Inevitably, I would end up with a lot of sourdough bread at home. Much more than we could consume. So I started gifting to friends and neighbours. Then they wanted to order. Soon after, friends of friends wanted to order. And I thought, why not? Why not make it a little more structured? So I gave the council a call, and started building a simple website with an ordering platform. And that was it, a start of my little hobby business baking sourdough bread to order.
What do you love most about baking sourdough?
Everything. The feeling of handling dough. The smell of freshly baked bread. The purity and simplicity of the ingredients. The intricate science behind it – it’s like a series of science experiments. And if everything goes as planned, then you have a lovely edible reward at the end. I also love how versatile bread can be, and I love playing with flavour combinations.
What kinds of things can people get at the cafe?
We’re open every Friday and Saturday from 8am to 2pm (or until sold out). We are take-away only at the moment, but we are located across the street from a lovely boat ramp in Stockton which has some picnic tables and beautiful views of the Hunter River.
Every Friday and Saturday we have 4-6 different flavours of freshly baked sourdough loaves. We also do a range of handcrafted sourdough danishes and croissants – such as our very popular Lemon & Thyme Sourdough Danish, Swedish-style Cardamom Knot Buns, Sourdough Almond Croissants, Sourdough Cinnamon Cruffins, and savoury options such as Ham & Gouda Croissants, Spinach & Feta Croissants etc.
Sometimes we also bake sourdough baguettes and seasonal focaccias. And of course, there’s take-away coffees (by Sprocket), teas, matcha and hot-chocolates. We plan to expand the menu further to have more breakfast options such as freshly baked bagel sandwiches very soon.
What’s the maximum number of loaves you can bake and what does your baking routine look like?
So far we have baked a maximum number of 110 Sourdough loaves in a day, and around 135 croissants and danishes. It’s a lot when you consider that we make everything from scratch and by hand in our little studio bakery kitchen and with only a baking team of 2 people!
Our recipe for sourdough loaves involves a 2-3 day process. Day 1 is all about feeding the starter and making the dough followed by a whole lot of stretch and folds. And of course, resting and fermentation. We work with small batches of dough for 10-20 loaves at a time, so that we can ensure quality & care. Day 2 and 3 is all about shaping, slow-proofing and baking.
What’s your top tip for keeping a sourdough starter alive?
Feeding it regularly, and baking with it often. Sourdough starter is a symbiotic community of microorganisms. It’s a living culture of wild yeast and good bacteria. To keep it healthy and alive, you have to feed it. Just like a pet
