REVEALED: Southside’s best bakery

Beautiful baked goods, fair prices and happy bakers combine to create southside’s best bakery, as voted by you.

Melt-in-your-mouth baked goods are just one of the factors that earned Banneton Bakery the title of South Brisbane’s best bakery in Matt Preston and Delicious Magazine’s search to discover the greatest local eateries.

Banneton Bakery produces quality baked goods, such as sourdough, pastries and sausage rolls, to hungry Brisbanites at two southside locations, at Woolloongabba and Camp Hill.

Integrity is everything to owners Eric Ramonda and Carrol Faherty, who first opened the Balaclava St location in 2009.

Eric Ramonda at his bakery, Banneton Bakery at Woolloongabba. Photography: David Kelly.

Mr Ramonda, who has a background in managing patisseries in France, said his team creates baked goods without shortcuts, with the aim of producing a product that celebrates both traditional baking methods, the skill of their bakers and the needs of their many customers.

“We make the product not because it creates an income for us, but because we love eating them and we want them to be genuine,” Mr Ramonda said.

“Our 100 per cent pure sourdough is something we worked hard on to make it the best sourdough and now it’s second to none.

The offerings at Banneton Bakery at the Gabba. Photo: Ric Frearson.

“We make our own sausage rolls, and one of our bakers developed a pork and fennel roll with apple, herbs and spices and that’s going really, really well, too.”

Mr Ramonda said he is committed to keeping prices down to ensure Banneton’s beautiful baked goods remain accessible to everyone, while simultaneously ensuring his bakers enjoy good and fair wages and a fulfilling work environment.

“Bakers, compared to other trades such as plumbers and electricians, are some of the poorest paid tradespeople,” Mr Ramonda said.

The pure sourdough bread is one of the most popular items at Banneton Bakery. Photo: Jamie Hanson.

“People don’t expect to pay $11 or $12 for a loaf of bread, so we always have to balance that.

“We aim to make the salary conditions better and the working conditions better each year for any bakers that come and start to learn with us.

“If they’re happy, that’s going to be reflected in their work.”

The juggling act seems to be working, with Mr Ramonda saying he can walk into any of his stores and see smiles on his employees faces, dozens of repeat customers and rows upon rows of delicious-looking baked goods.

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