Berkelo Manly

This is the fourth Berkelo Bakery (the other outposts are in Brookvale, Mosman and Mona Vale). It’s stocked with fruit from Block11 Organics (usually found at Carriageworks Farmers Markets); house-made sourdough pasta; an assortment of teas made from dehydrated produce such as pineapple sage, native river mint and rosella (a hibiscus-like flower), all sourced from Berkelo’s Terrey Hills farm; and plenty of tasty things to take away. When Broadsheet visited there was a corned beef and kimchi sandwich; custard tarts; and a miso, beef and potato pie served with a side of house-fermented chilli sauce.

But everyone knows that what really brings the crowds to Berkelo is the bread.

There’s the signature sourdough, as well as its brown bread made from khorasan flour (an ancient grain), rye, toasted malt and NSW honey. Also the sprouted grain loaf (a modern take on multigrain with linseed, lentil sprouts, buckwheat sprouts and rolled spelt); olive bread; and fruit loaf.

What makes Berkelo one of the best in the business? Perhaps the fact that it’s one of the only bakeries in the state with an in-house stone mill. But Berkelo’s success also has a lot to do with its approach. The loaves contain no artificial additives and are left to naturally leaven, spending at least 18 hours cold fermenting.

It’s not just the bread that’s high quality here. Berkelo Manly has partnered with Single O to sell filtered coffee through Single O’s self-service batch-brew tap system, which until now has only been available at the flagship Surry Hills cafe.