Bakeries seemed to multiply throughout Brisbane’s suburbs during the pandemic.

People were stuck at home, either working remotely or just flat out locked down with nothing else to do, and they needed comfort food. Whipping down to the corner for a coffee, a kouign-amann and a bit of human connection became an almost cliched daily ritual.

Now, workers are returning to the city, and they’re bringing their desire for fancy comfort food with them.

“Bakeries are popping up around the city like mushrooms,” Simone Presta says. “There’s a big demand. These people understand now what a good bakery is. People really recognise that difference now, whereas five years ago they perhaps didn’t.”

It’s true. Jocelyn’s Provisions, Lune and The Whisk have all opened in the city in recent years.

Now, Presta and his business partners, Steven Chevalier and Salvatore Compagnone, have joined them, opening a new outlet of their cult Albion bakery, Doughcraft, in the Mary Street space formerly occupied by Leonard’s Bar & Bistro, which closed in late 2023.

The way Presta tells it, this is Doughcraft as it was originally envisioned.

“Doughcraft was born as a French bakery and Italian deli,” Presta says. “But we never had the real chance to express our entire deli side of the business, because of the demographics around Albion. So, there, we decided to push towards the bakery side.

“But the opportunity came up to take this beautiful venue, and it was the right opportunity to finally incorporate our deli section.”

Presta, Chevalier and Compagnone have decided to centralise their entire operations – which include Doughcraft’s wholesale sister business, Farine & Co – on Mary Street, making use of the premises’ sizeable kitchen to install more ovens and proofing cabinets, with a smaller production operation remaining at Albion to “keep the freshness of the product as much as possible”.

Inside, it still looks like Leonard’s. There are still the mosiac tile floors, the curtains and timber of the dining room, and the exposed brick walls. All the furniture is the same, and it still has the same lovely soft light coming in off Mary Street.

But the bar now does duty as a pastry and coffee counter, and Chevalier, Compagnone and Presta have hung new art on the walls. A fetching display has taken the place of the old window-side dining spots; it lets passers-by know this is very much now a bakery.

Mornings are dedicated to the flaky pastries and crusty bread that has made Doughcraft so popular in Albion. There are decadent Danishes crammed full of whipped cream, vanilla and custard; pain au chocolat; apple compote turnovers and creme brulee croissant tarts. For bread, there are baguettes and loaves of sourdough, as well as a range of smaller focaccia to snack on.

What’s new for the CBD begins with a menu of panini sandwiches designed for lunchtime. You might order the Veronica (mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio crumble), the Adele (prosciutto, pesto, mozzarella, tomato, rocket), the Daniela (porchetta, ’nduja, capsicum, stracciatella) or the Viviana (eggplant, artichoke, capsicum, feta, pepitas).

“People tell us this is something they needed in the city.”

Simone Presta

From 3pm on Thursday and Friday an aperitivo menu takes over, with cheese and charcuterie available, along with beer and a short list of sparkling, white and red wine (including a bunch of Corsican drops courtesy of Herve Dudognon, whose Herve’s restaurant is neighbours with Doughcraft in Albion). There’s also a cocktail menu that features a cosmopolitan, a margarita, a mojito, and three variations each on a negroni and a spritz, including a negroni sbagliato, which subs in prosecco for gin. Presta says the bar staff are happy to stir other classic cocktails, too.

“It’s great to finally have our original concept up and running, and in such a nice venue,” Presta says. “People are very happy about what we’ve created. The place is fancy but we wanted to create an environment that’s not too pretentious.

“It matches people’s budget, it’s quick and easy. People tell us this is something they needed in the city.”

Open Tue-Wed 7am-3pm; Thu-Fri 7am-7pm

181 Mary Street, Brisbane, 0431 553 833

doughcraftbne.com