One of the things that gives bakers Alex Alewood and Jamie Goodin great joy is getting warm bread and pastries into the hands of as many customers as possible.

To that end, the husband-and-wife owners of Marrickville's Goodwood Bakeshop aim to bake as close to 7am as they can. 

"We bake off pretty close to opening time because we want the loaves to still be warm when people come in. That makes us really happy," says Alewood. 

Arrive early and the smell of fresh bread wafts out into the street. Shelves are lined with rows of white and seeded sourdough, rounds of rustic miche and a variety of stuffed croissants.

At opening time, the cheese in the scamorza croissant will still be melted and stringy, and the chocolate in the pain au chocolat still gooey. 

The same line-up of pleasantly springy, chewy-crusted loaves (classic or seeded sourdough, miche, fig-raisin and fennel, and baguette) is usually available every opening day, but the pastry offering depends on what's in season and whatever takes the bakers' fancy. "We've got three staple croissants," she says.

"Plain, pain au chocolat, and a ham, gruyere and seeded mustard that's so popular we'll probably never be able to take it off the menu. Then we play around."

This week's creations include the dark chocolate and blood orange pastry topped with toasted hazelnuts, the outstanding vegetarian scamorza croissant with bechamel and smoky tomato relish, plus lemon myrtle morning buns.

"We trialled a vanilla slice last weekend that sold out in a red-hot minute."

Goodwood is the first time the couple has opened their own shop. Between them they have impressive credentials at some of Sydney's best bakeries, including Bourke Street Bakery, Bread and Butter Project, Black Star Pastry and Staple Bread & Necessities.

Skills honed over many years and many ovens makes for great baked goods, but what makes them even better is that ingredients are local, often within a few streets of the bakery.

Ricotta is made fresh in Marrickville each morning at Paesanella, scamorza comes from Vannella in Marrickville, tomato relish is made by Dulwich Hill's Drunken Sailor Jam, coffee is roasted nearby at Deluca.

The flour comes from NSW. "The main source of our flour is milled by a guy who's been doing it since he was 15," says Alewood. "It's an art and he knows his stuff. We also use a husband-and-wife miller who grow and mill their own grain."

A small amount is also milled in house on a small wooden mill. "Jamie mills malt barley for the bakery," says Alewood.

"He's so passionate about it. Freshly milled grain is active and alive, it keeps your levain really healthy and it gives the dough a nice flavour. A bit of our freshly milled grain will find its way into most things we bake."

Goodin and Alewood bake almost everything on their own, using a small pastry oven and the bread deck oven. Eventually they'll have more staff and bigger ovens, but for now the offering often sells out early on busy weekend days to enthusiastic locals. 

"When we were looking at places to open, we wanted a suburb with a strong sense of community. We've had customers come in every day since we started; some of them are there before seven, waiting for the doors to open," she says. 

"One of the hangovers from Covid is that people want to support small businesses around them. People have realised that there's a good chance those butchers, bakers, and fruit shops would disappear if people didn't look out for them. Marrickville has really shown up for us."

The low-down

Main attraction A small scale neighbourhood bakery that attracts weekend queues for its incredible bread and pastries.

Must-try dish Any stuffed croissant filled, sweet or savoury, plus a loaf of seeded sourdough. 

Insta-worthy dish Freshly baked ham, gruyere and seeded mustard croissants, cut in half to showcase the melted cheese. 

Drinks Coffee by Deluca, Sticky Chai, Mörk hot chocolate, StrangeLove sodas.