Five Loaves Bakery
Sadly our stay around the Streaky Bay area had come to a end, this part of the Eyre is sensational and well worth exploring. For our next move we decided to head further south down the and slowly make our way down to the Coffin Bay/Port Lincoln area. After a few days checking out this awesome part of the Eyre, I did a quick trip up the centre to a little town called Cummins.
Cummins is located about 40mins north east of Coffin Bay. Cummins is a typical small Eyre Peninsula wheatbelt town which straddles the local railway line. The features which characterise every Australian wheatbelt town – the bulk grain silos, the railhead, the solitary pub – inevitably define the town however, unlike most wheatbelt towns, Cummins has some beautiful stone houses as well as a modern flour mill and a epic bakery that I lined up to visit.
Five Loaves Bakery is located on Bruce Terrace and is owned and operated by Evan and his wife Amanda. The bakery has been open for about 16 years, however Evan and Amand only took over this place about 14 months ago. Prior to owning this bakery, Evan had been in the wheat game for a long period, while Amanda a fully qualified pastry chef was a old hand at making quality baking products. Now Amanda is teaching these expert skills to her daughter Ella who’s doing her apprenticeship at the bakery.
The joint is open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and for a little town of around 1000 people this bakery employs over 20 plus staff. The inside area is massive with heaps of seating and a cabinet display to die for. Once again the sweet toothes will froth over this place. The selections are endless and they all looked amazing but i was here for the 🥧’s and was keen to get cracking.
For this weeks review, I went for something a little different. After chatting to Mitchell (one of the bakers) about a few options he suggested i give one of his favourites a go. This was “chunky steak, red wine and garlic”. I’ve reviewed plenty of chunky steak and red wines before, but the added garlic had me intrigued and a tad excited.
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – $5.90 was terrific value. Acceptable in depth and diameter and filled with quality ingredients. You would be more than happy with this price. 9/10
2. Meat Ratio – Very good !!! The 🥧 was full, but it had sunken a little in the middle, maybe a little extra puff could have prevented this. In the overall scheme of things you would be more than happy with the ratio in this 🥧. 9.5/10
3. Flavour – LOVED IT !!! With every bite you could taste the perfectly cooked steak, red wine, garlic and rich gravy. The red wine was a ripper and the garlic was the perfect blend. No negatives here, great job. 9.5/10
4. Pastry – Overall pretty good. The bakes were all perfect which was pleasing to see. The flavour of the pasty was really good as well. Only negatives were the shape and shrinkage they both needed a tweak plus the middle had sunk a fraction, maybe needed a fraction more puff. Theee negatives were only minor 8.5/10
5. Serving Temperature – Perfect !!! 10/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 46.5/50 🥧🥧
This was a quality product !!! The flavour for me was the best part of this 🥧. The meat was tender the red wine was clearly evident and the added garlic wasn’t overpowering. The price point was on song and the pastry was very good. No real negatives apart from shape and slight shrinkage issues, but these were only minor. If you love red wine and garlic this 🥧 will be right up your alley. Great job Mitchell and the baking team.
This little town and this bakery is yet another place you need to add to your own travel plans. Evan and Amanda have done a sterling job since taking over this bakery 14 months. The first 12 months in any business is the hardest and can be do or die, but these guys have this bakery absolutely pumping. A huge thanks team for having me in and keep up the outstanding work. I’m so glad I made the detour and found this epic bakery.
This part of the Eyre was spectacular. The weather, more particularly the wind was a real challenge at times, but overall this area was pretty bloody awesome. Venus Bay caravan park, Sheringa Beach, Elliston, Greenly Beach, Talia Caves and Cummins should all be places you add to your list. Plus don’t forget the Colton Baker !!! the fruit buns are next level.
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