In the eastern suburbs of Sydney, the city meets the beach at Bondi NSW where an eclectic melting pot of cultures shines through in its bakery offerings.

World-famous Bondi NSW Beach attracts people from all over the globe. Aqua waves peel off the rocks and tumble onto a stretch of golden sand that’s rarely void of beachgoers.

Butting up against the beach is a bustle of seaside activity, filled with Bondi locals and tourists. Often, travellers settle here, bringing with them the secrets of their heritage, and sharing them with the people of Bondi.

This mix is reflected in the bakeries, which boast techniques from France, Germany, America, New Zealand and more. From Hungarian pozsonyi to German pretzels and classic artisan sourdough, the goodies on offer in Bondi NSW provide a culinary world tour without all the international travel.

1/ Central Baking Depot

Word on the street is that Central Baking Depot is the place to go in Bondi Junction for good coffee. Better still, Central Baking Depot offers an online service where you can order your cuppa along with a croissant, brioche or danish and have it waiting for you to pick up on your way past.

Also on the menu are tempters such as pain au chocolate, poached fig, barberry and almond frangipane tart and handcrafted pies.

Central Baking Depot also produces pies, cakes, pastries and sourdough bread wholesale to other businesses around Sydney.

Our pick: Brioche Scrolls in Cinnamon Sugar

2/ Sonoma Artisan Sourdough Bakers

Sonoma is famous for hand-crafted artisan sourdough. The team prepare starters a day before baking, using only flour, filtered water and naturally-occurring wild yeast. The team rests starters for 14 hours before mixing them into dough. Each loaf is hand-shaped, wrapped in linen or a cloth-lined banneton, scored with a lame and baked on a stone hearth.

Sonoma produces two signature loaves: Miche, which has a smoky flavour and blistered crust, and Mission, which has a chewy crust and custard-like texture. Also on the bread-list are ancient grain, oat porridge (which has cooked porridge hand-folded through), and toasted sesame and amaranth, to name a few.

Sonoma also handcrafts pastries, natural and toasted mueslis, danishes and croissants and serves coffee. In addition to its Bondi NSW cafe, the business has a number of other stores in Alexandria, Glebe, Paddington, Rose Bay, Waterloo and Woollahra as well.

Our pick: Ancient Grain Loaf

3/ Sweet Kiss Cake Shop

Sweet Kiss Cake Shop has been in the Varga family for two generations, with Adam Varga now serving up some of the eastern beaches’ best European cakes and pastries.

The store, Adam explains, is a sensory feast of colours, flavours, smells and textures.

“We strive to enlighten the senses and create memories by combining high-quality ingredients with handmade craftsmanship,” he says.

Some of the more unique treats you’ll find inside Sweet Kiss Cake Shop include the dobos (layers of savoy sponge with chocolate mousseline and dark toffee), esterhazy (walnut dacquise sponge layers with brandy mousse and finished off with fondant), brulee entremets (chocolate mousse with inserts of caramel curd, vanilla cremeux and a crispy praline layer with a layer of sacher biscuit, finished with a chocolate mirror glaze) and the Hungarian classic pozsonyi (sweet yeasted dough with a walnut or poppy seed filling).

But Sweet Kiss is so much more than just dessert. In the bakery section you’ll find an extensive viennoiserie range including croissants, danishes and brioche using in-season ingredients and organic flours. There’s also sourdough made from local organic flours and a savoury range that includes just one pie (it’s that good) and a chorizo sausage roll.

Our pick: Caramel Milk Chocolate Tart

4/ The TinPin Bakery

The TinPin Bakery is a favourite among Bondi NSW locals. The rustic store is the perfect place to sit, sip and savour one of the freshly made croissants, bagels, lemon tarts, mille feuille, muffins or strudels. But the store’s standout has always been its bread—made fresh daily with a focus on organic ingredients. There’s sourdough, light rye, traditional French baguettes, country grain and even an olive, sundried tomato and thyme loaf.

Our pick: Mille Feuille

5/ Iggy’s Bread

Iggy’s Bread at Bronte is known for naturally leavened, hearth-bakes breads served with slather of good old-fashion service.

Waiting in the legendary Iggy’s queue has become a rite of passage for Bronte locals and visitors who are happy to wait for the hand-cut bread and a conversation with the owners. Any Saturday morning will see a line of eager bread-lovers, often posting selfies online, as they queue for “the best bread in Sydney”.

Founders Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic opened the store in 2015, after having to upgrade from a smaller store in Bronte to keep up with demand. Iggy’s specialises in country sourdough, whole-wheat sourdough, francese and seedless white rye.

Our pick: Country Sourdough

6/ Neu’s Delicacy

Neu’s Delicacy is the place to go for specialty German-style breads. It’s the brainchild of German-born Manuel Neu, who knows good bread when he sees it. You see, German sourdough is different to your typical sourdough in that it contains even amounts of rye and wheat, and has a thinner crust.   

The shop’s master bakers work throughout the night seven days a week to bring traditional German bread made with Australian ingredients to the public. These ingredients are sourced locally from farms around Sydney and greater NSW in order to product the tastiest, freshest loaves possible. The range includes everything from German rye and Munich malt to spelt loaves. They also make the most incredible German pretzels, spattered with sea salt and hung from stands on the countertops. Other delicacies include poppy seed swirl pastries, authentic Berliner doughnuts and chocolate filled croissants, to name a few.

Our pick: German Pretzels

7/ Organic Republic Bakery

Fuelled by an environmentally and socially responsible ethos as well as its ‘let the bread speak’ motto, Organic Republic Bakery strives to be as Certified Organic as possible in its product offering while keeping food miles and carbon emissions to a minimum. With a focus on seasonal produce and fair trade ingredients, the bakers mix, knead and bake throughout the day in full view of patrons. Shelves are loaded with a divine-smelling array of freshly made loaves, baguettes, pizzas, bagels, tarts, cakes, muffins and slices.

Our pick: German Pretzels

8/ François Artisan Baker

Highly respected pastry chef François Galand has returned to his roots with François Artisan Baker, creating a stunning range of traditional French handmade artisan pastries and cakes. Each morning brings a plethora of organic breads and French croissants to the delight of its regular clientele. François’ tarts and pastries are out of this world, and his quiche and pie range is second to none (try the beef and peppercorn pie). There’s also a mind-boggling selection of incredible cakes, ranging from the classic carrot cake to the magnificent hazelnut merveilleaux or the king of cakes—the croquembouche.

Our pick: Strawberry Tarte

9/ The Cook and Baker

The owners of The Cook and Baker, Cherie Bevan and Tass Tauroa, are chefs-turned-bakers. After noticing a gap in the market, they decided to open a bakery that reminded them of the old-school bakehouses they grew up with in New Zealand.

Cherie says, “We saw a lot of Italian and French bakeries around but no classic old-school baking, so we took a risk and opened The Cook and Baker.”

The bakery does Kiwi classics such as Ginger Crunch, Afghan Biscuits and New Zealand lolly cakes. The team makes everything from scratch, including the jams on the shelves and the tomato sauce they serve with pies.

Last year, Cherie and Tass published cookbook The Cook and Baker, which includes old-favourites such red velvet cake, chocolate-salted caramel brownies and peanut butter cookies.

Walk past The Cook and Baker around 7am and you’ll find eager customers queuing for the pastries that come out of the oven at that exact time every day.

Our pick: Rhubarb Lemon Curd Tart