Stoneground Bakery – Annandale

Bianca: In another life I was a baker, a bakess? A bread roll? All I know, is that a life without carbs, really isn’t worth living. My very first legitimate job in high school, was the all-around ‘bread queen’ at Brumby’s Bakery on Leichhardt’s, Norton st. I’ve continued that love affair with bread to this very day. Bread, pastries and burgers are really the singular reason I dedicate so much time to exercise. The more you move the more you moo!!

So when an invitation was extended to visit Stoneground Bakery we jumped at the opportunity. The menu is fairly small and concise but they have the usual café standards as well as a large selection of pastries, cakes, hot pies, sandwiches and fresh bread.

A family run business with the first outpost as Gregory’s Bread at the Sydney Fish Markets, a second Stoneground branded store in Hunters Hill. And a third store on Annandale’s café lined Booth Street.

Pumping out Will & Co coffee, my skim flat white was on the bitter side but that seemed to be the only anomaly out of three coffee’s on the table.

Sharing is caring so we opted for a few selected dishes and asked owner Melina to select some pastries and cakes. The Chicken and Sage Pie served with relish, was a hearty serve full of tender chicken pieces and a thick béchamel sauce. There’s really nothing worse than a dry pie and despite the generous sauce the pastry remained crisp. An accompanying side salad would be a great addition, just to cut through the richness and to offer some greenery.

The Bakers Breakfast – w/ eggs any way, bacon, spinach, fried tomato on sourdough of choice $14 + chorizo $4 and haloumi $3. A well-proportioned and priced dish that will satisfy the big eaters. Haloumi just makes the world a better place, so I advocate strongly for that addition.

I was slightly taken aback when my chosen Avocado Smash –w/ Roma tomatoes, feta, balsamic on Soy linseed sourdough $12 hit the table. I’d probably consider this more of a bruschetta than anything else, with the predominant ingredient being tomatoes. Still, a tasty and light option.

If there are pancakes on a menu, guaranteed we’ll be ordering them! But occasionally we like to dip into the French toast, waffle and crepe game. Step in the Sweet Crepes w/ Nutella, strawberries, pistachios and ice-cream $12. The crepes, made in-house. Were paper-thin with a proportionate amount of Nutella filling and fresh fruit to cut through the heaviness. Ice-cream is probably a bit too much first thing in the morning but it really is a sweet tooths delight.

Alex tends to be drawn to the real breakfast(y) items and instantly gravitated to the Muesli Pot – In house muesli w/ yoghurt and fruit compote $10. I tend to shy away from dishes like this as I find them way too heavy. I liked the contrasting textures and the sourness from the Greek yoghurt but I wasn’t really a fan of the muesli.

Melina put together a board of sweets as well as my requested Almond Croissant $4 as I’m still on my mission to find the best in Australia. We were to full to sample the treats in store but got stuck into them later that afternoon. With the favourites being the Lemon Meringue Tart with a strong twinge of sourness. And the Custard Tart with a good dose of cinnamon.

The Almond Croissant was one of the better ones I’ve had in Sydney but still not quite up to the Margaret River bakery standard. Basically the unicorn of almond croissants that not even Lune in Melbourne could surpass.

I never leave a bakery empty-handed and picked myself up a loaf of Turkish bread. Later toasted and slathered with Avocado and Yarra Valley Cheese Persian fetta. And then butter and salt. I told you….I like my carbs! I’m pretty excited to try more of their bread, I saw a few mixed baguettes with my name on them.

Strong recommendation for those that appreciate good bread and tasty and affordable food.

Bianca

Photos by Alex

*For Food’s Sake dined as guests but all opinions are our own and independent.