Inside Baker Bleu’s New Bondi Outpost With Country Wheel Rolls And Fougasse

Before Baker Bleu had a bakery in Sydney, Neil Perry was flying its bread up from Melbourne.

Not metaphorically. Actual loaves, air-freightened north because Perry wanted Baker Bleu on the table at his award-winning Double Bay restaurant Margaret badly enough to make sourdough part of the bill. By 2022, he’d convinced founders Mike and Mia Russell to go one better and open a bakery a few doors down in Double Bay.

Four years later and Sydney is getting another one.

Due to open on Hall Street in Bondi this December, Baker Bleu has its flour-dusted horizons set to take over 34 Hall Street with a smaller, grab-n-go version of the bakery devoted to its dark-crusted sourdough.

And look, there’s a fair bit of history packed into that loaf.

Before starting Baker Bleu, Mike Russell actually spent time at Baker D. Chirico, Bourke Street Bakery and the Eastern Suburbs’ sourdough institution Iggy’s. Then, in 2016, he and Mia opened a tiny 60-square-metre bakery in Elsternwick. It got busy fast. Famously, a little too fast. By the time Baker Bleu moved into its much larger Caulfield North home, it had developed a habit of selling out before 9am on Sundays.

The world of hospo and restaurants alike got in early too. Melbourne’s Andrew McConnell wandered into that original bakery one morning and asked whether he could use the bread in his own restaurants and almost 10 years later, Baker Bleu still supplies his venues today, while its dark-crusted loaves have made their way onto tables at Attica, Cutler & Co, Cumulus Inc, Gimlet (the crown jewel of Andrew McConnell's empire) and plenty more.

Since its inception, the crust has always been the dead giveaway as well.

Baker Bleu deliberately takes its sourdough into deep-brown territory—thick, chewy, blistered and considerably more serious than your standard beige boule. “Dark Crust Daily” has effectively become the house motto, backed by long fermentation, natural leavening and a stubborn commitment to making bread slowly.

As for its new Bondi store, it’s all a bit quicker.

Now, the new bakery won’t bake on site, instead following that grab-n-go model Baker Bleu has used in South Yarra. The menu is riddled with country wheel rolls, seasonal fougasse, flaky croissants and the broader bread range, alongside sandwiches assembled fresh each day. There’s also a fresh take on its bagels, Market Lane coffee, iced drinks and of course—the soft serve.

There’ll be more than 20 seats outside, although Hall Street being Hall Street, plenty of it is clearly designed to leave the building; coffee down at the promenade, a sando for the knoll or an enormous loaf tucked under one arm for your summer picnic-ing.

Image credit: Supplied