Sonoma
Sonoma are not strictly organic, and often use a mix of
organic and non-organic flours. This flour combination helps to ensure
consistently attractive looking bread, as organic flour is sometimes
less predictable than conventional baker's flour (baker's flour may alos be legally 'enriched' with non-organic milling suplements and nutritional additives).
It is not entirely clear which loaves are organic, and which are not. This is a single complaint about an otherwise consciencious baking enterprise (owner, Andrew Caonnole, is otherwise very close to being the perfect baker). The use of non-organic flour also keeps the price of production down....we wish there was more clarity.
Andrew operates the sourdough bakery cafe in Waterloo, in Sydney. Christian Connole is in charge of the cafe in Glebe, which holds an extensive range of Sonoma bread. Father Kerry still maintains a strong interest after helping to start the business in the early days.
Sonoma begun on wood ovens and migrated to gas to keep up with demand. Wood-fired ovens are comparitively labour-intensive and have a slower recovery cycle than modern deck ovens.
A retarder is part of the process and accounts for the characteristic 'blistered crust'. It appears that this style of crust is now considered an asset by consumers -see forum post. There's also a lot of talk about a retarders positive effects on flavour.
In the retail shop/cafe at Glebe, Sonoma's humble beginnings and attitude to bread are still evident: There's a simple bread rack with an intelligent range of loaves to suit most tastes, including wheat and gluten sensitivities.
Contact details
Address: 198-222 Young Street, Waterloo, NSW, Australia. Sonoma Bakery Cafe.
Website: http://sonoma.com.au
Additional details:
Sonoma Bakery Cafe
215 Glebe Point Road
Glebe NSW
Replies
Post new comment