Life is Great

The Delicious Appreciations of Pick Yin

Not exactly predictable.
Has enough brains for codes
(but can be completely clueless on other more important matters).
Likes her Joe (and her man?) black, her chocolate dark and her food spicy.
“Quam bene vivas refert, non quam diu.” — Seneca

Total Posts   191      Last Updated   23 November 2015 12:00 PM (GMT +8)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011


Bourke Street Bakery, Sydney


... and a sourdough flop.
 

 
I will get to the flop bit later. Let's start with some good news first, because God knows we have enough bad news in the world to lament on this week. Bourke Street Bakery came into my radar just in time before we left for our Down Under vacation last year, thanks to the wonderful Shirley, who baked so consistently from this book despite her busy travelling schedules. Then I also read great reviews from Lorraine Elliott to convince me that we need to drop by this place when we arrive in Sydney.
 

 
So on the morning of one of the final days of our Australia trip, we walked to Surry Hills from our hotel at Hyde Park. Surry Hills provided me a different feel from the city center and Sydney harbor - which really felt a little bit like Singapore to me - and this tucked-in-the-corner bakery seemed to belong where it was just nicely. I don't think it's possible for anyone to walk pass the huge window display and the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked bread without stopping dead in their tracks. Even the dogs and small children looked curious.
 

 
The bakery's small internal space had the queue quickly spilling out into the streets as patrons waited patiently for the very efficient staffs behind the counter to get to them. Just before I was done with my order, we were lucky enough to find ourselves a nice and cozy spot inside just behind the doors, as nearing noon, the sun was picking up on its wrath upon the tables outside which were not shaded.
 

 
I remember vividly that just shortly after sitting down, Vijay proclaimed that if he ever opens a bakery with me one day, he would want it to be something like this. We haven't even tasted the food yet and the place had already won his heart. The rustic ambience, self-made tables, metal plates and almost quaint atmosphere impressed him to no end. Of course the ensuing pork and fennel sausage roll brought him to a whole new happy zone. I was contented to have found us the perfect spot to spend the rest of our afternoon slowly and steadily.
 

 
And boy did we do it slowly. I started with the passion fruit meringue tart. The sourness of the filling and sweetness of the well-charred meringue was well balanced and I absolutely loved the crispy and firm version of Bourke Street Bakery's tart shell. It almost trumped my current favorite non-chocolate dessert, the lemon meringue tart. By the time we finished our food, we ran out of coffee so I went to join the queue again for round two. (Haven't you heard? We Malaysians can really eat.)
 

 
I decided to try the equally famous ginger brûlée tart and for something with cocoa (but of course!) the chocolate mousse raspberry tart. Both did not disappoint and I thought that the ginger brûlée tart was genius. The only enhancement I could think of for it is perhaps turning it into a ginger chai brûlée tart just so that the addictive but soothing teh halia can be mixed with some eggs, burnt with some sugar on top and encased in a tasty short crust pastry tart shell.      
 

 
Meanwhile, our camera bags, huge tripod and continuous shooting attracted some attention - you can only be so discrete when your cameras were bigger than their plates and Vijay's loaned zoom lens was taller than their water glasses. It didn't help that he was training his shots at the lady behind the coffee machine till the girl at the till, after observing us for some time couldn't contain herself and had to ask us why we were photographing their place with such interest. We proceeded to play the tourist card quite convincingly - really, that was easier to do than explaining a food blog - and she was pleased with our honest affection for their bustling business. 
 


 
When our cameras were finally stashed away, we sat back and relaxed, enjoying our second coffees idly while watching what others ordered to eat and take away. The salads and pies at the table next to us looked equally tempting as I was taking stock of what we would be getting to go. In the end I decided to not be greedy and packed just another sausage roll for Vijay and a piece of orange almond cake for myself. The cake followed me back to Singapore and was moist even after eight hours of flight and a few more in my fridge. Now thinking back, I'm kicking myself for not trying any of their breads. Despite our love for artisan sourdoughs, we now don't know how theirs taste like.
 

 
Which brings us back to the sourdough episode. The first recipe I attempted from Paul Allam and David Mcguinness's book was the basic sourdough. It's our favorite bread and the bakery in Singapore we found making good bread is out of the way from our home. For three weeks before the Lunar New Year I lovingly nurtured a starter with organic flour and bottled water. The nightly feedings produced what looked like a healthy colony of little buggers (as we liked to call the yeasts and bacteria), barfing away their gases almost as soon as I finished mixing in their meals.
 

 
However just before making the dough, I couldn't time my final three feeds according to the suggested schedule - these were more closely timed together to strengthen the starter. The kneaded dough didn't rise much and the bread was (not surprisingly) dense to the point of unpleasantness. I almost didn't bake the dough but Vijay convinced me to do it. I'm now wondering about the recipe, whether or not it can be done by home bakers and if anyone out there has successfully baked this from scratch (not using store-bought starters and not adding any commercial yeast). It didn't help when Ellie informed that the book's brioche recipe is problematic as well for both her and another blogger.
 

 
I still have a portion of the starter freezing (and hopefully alive but just sleeping) in the fridge but I really don't know when I'll attempt the elusive sourdough again. The possible prospect of another round of costly organic flour going down the drain is not very encouraging. Maybe I should steer away from the bread department into the dessert section and bake the ginger brûlée tart first to relive the fond memories of our visit to this bakery. We'll see how my baking heart feels in a couple of weeks.



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posted by PickYin @ 2/23/2011 02:07:00 PM

23 Comments on Bourke Street Bakery, Sydney

Lovely pictures of Bourke Street Bakery btw - I'm definitely gonna try a number of items you pointed out which I didn't have the opportunity to try the last time I went!

I actually do have the book but have yet to try on the starter bit - I am using Peter Reinhart's recipe for a sourdough starter and it has been working well for me - my starter is about 4 months old now and going strong :)

Posted by Anonymous Janine, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:02:00 PM  

Janine! Can you share the source for Peter Reinhart's recipe? Do visit BSB again for those desserts, you'll not regret it.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:02:00 PM  

Hey! I got the recipe from his book that I have, but I googled it on the net and found quite a few sources which have copied down his recipe exactly - http://www.peterandrewryan.com/baking/2009/07/my-first-sourdough/

Posted by Anonymous Janine, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:02:00 PM  

Thanks for the link Janine, I hope to revisit this sourdough adventure soon.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:02:00 PM  

i miss sydney! ah... bourke street, i can smell the bread from here!

Posted by Anonymous Min {Honest Vanilla}, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:03:00 PM  

So envious of the great pics! Can't believe that you guys actually sett up the tripod for the shots at the bakery! Salute! I think I should start lugging my DSLR around... I have not brougt it out yet!

Posted by Anonymous shirley@kokken69, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:03:00 PM  



Min: I don't really miss Sydney, but I miss the bakery. Manly was nice though.

Shirley: We had the tripod with us for the purpose of scenic/architectural/both-of-us-in-the-picture photography. We didn't use it in the bakery but I guess with two DSLRs at the same table it was still a little over the top. You should bring yours out, with all those beautiful places you go to! Pack a tight gear with just a zoom lens and perhaps the 50 mm. Nothing else but a spare battery is required.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:05:00 PM  

i love the rustic ambiance at BSB too! that ginger brulee tart is one of my favourites! need to make a trip there soon! great photos!

Posted by Anonymous Vivienne, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:06:00 PM  

Vivienne, do you have other favorites? I would've loved to try ALL their desserts but had no room for anything else after three tarts. Thanks for dropping by.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:06:00 PM  

I just got a trendy camera bag a few months back so I am bringing my DSLR to US this time... :)

Posted by Anonymous shirley@kokken69, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:07:00 PM  

Shirley: You won't regret it, happy shooting!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:10:00 PM  

My favourite place for tarts and sausage rolls!

Posted by Anonymous Ellie (Almost Bourdain), at Feb 2, 2012, 4:10:00 PM  

awww jealous much!! I was in Sydney for a year a few years ago and I didn't know about this place.. It either wasn't opened yet, or the hype wasn't there yet... argghh!!

Posted by Anonymous Swee San @The Sweet Spot, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:10:00 PM  



Ellie: Thank God I have you guys to find out about the place. One of the best returns of food blogging and social networking. I hope to attempt the sourdough again, this time maybe referring to the much acclaimed Reinhart guidance for some changes.

Swee San: Go next time, I think this place is the kind that will stay for another 10 years if they keep doing what they do now.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:11:00 PM  

ha! I don't miss Sydney either, but they have Bourke St bakery!!!

Posted by Anonymous anh@anhsfoodblog.com, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:12:00 PM  

Anh: You and me both. I admit I flew to Sydney only with BSB in the agenda. I can't however, wait to return to beautiful Melbourne.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:12:00 PM  

Beautiful little bakery. I love the rustic look of it all.
I wouldn't mind spending a lazy afternoon trying ALL their pastry.
I need to get myself to Australia one of these days.

Posted by Anonymous zenchef, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:13:00 PM  

Stephane: You said it. You need to go to Australia, I need to go to France.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:13:00 PM  

I love love love this bakery to death. In my distant dream of opening a bakery I hope it would be as rustic, charming and quaint as BSB. I loved all the pies, sausage rolls and pastries and cake but haven't really tried the breads (apart from croissant and pan au chocolat which is part bread part pastry..hehe) but I will definitely be experimenting with the sourdough starters..It's something I've put off for months....will let you know if it flops :(

Yes, as Malaysians my husband and I erm..ate non-stop at BSB during our short visit to Sydney last year..in one sitting alone, we got the vanilla and strawberry brulee tarts, beef pies, pork and fennel sausage rolls,croissant and pan au chocolate. The next day we walked back to Surrey Hills (yes walked from Chinatown) and ordered the carrot cake, pear tart, ginger brulee, chocolate and raspberry mousse tart and more savoury pies (omg...we were such gluttons!!)

Posted by Anonymous Mei Sze, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:14:00 PM  

Mei Sze: Glad to know there are other people like us who stuffed ourselves silly while we had the chance. I envy those people who stay nearby. We are losing quaitness of everything in Asia nowadays. Coffee shops are chains, bakeries are more like sweatshops and the few good ones are only tucked into rich, up-there neighborhoods.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:15:00 PM  

This bakery has changed my life -- and I don't exagerate. Amazing breads and pastries, and the meat pies and sausage rolls are a revelation.

Great photos! Post is beautiful.

Posted by Anonymous shaun @ everybody loves ramen, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:15:00 PM  

shaun: This place is the reason I will return to Sydney, or find an excuse to go there!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 4:17:00 PM  

I adore this quaint place in Surry Hills!! Always started my days when I was there! :D

Posted by Anonymous TagoFabic, at Apr 16, 2013, 1:46:00 PM  


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