Ross Village Bakery (Ross TAS)
The best part out Tassie is everything is relatively close driving wise and our next destination wasn’t that far away. Our plan was to make our way to Oatlands and stay the night at the free camp, but before we got there I wanted to visit both bakeries in the small historic village of Ross. Ross is located around 80km south of Launceston. The village well known for it’s two bakeries and a beautiful sandstone bridge. Constructed in 1836 it’s the third oldest bridge still in use in Australia. The bridge was awesome but I was here for the 🥧’s !!!
The first bakery on my list was the Ross Village Bakery & Inn, that’s where I met owners Carl, Kirsty and Abbi. The bakery has been around for many years with Kristy’s parents Chris and Dot taking over the place over 25 years ago. Karl has been in the hospitality game in the US for many years and that’s where he met Kirsty. After a few years they decided to head back to Australia and run the family bakery.
The bakery employs over 12 staff and is open Wednesday through to Sunday. The serving area is tiny, but the outside area is massive with a huge garden area with heaps of seating and plenty of room to sit and relax. The bakery also has probably the best wood fire oven I’ve even seen, built in 1860 this thing is EPIC. To visit consecutive bakeries with wood fire ovens is pretty rare and special. The bakery is also well known for it’s scallop 🥧‘s and vanilla slices and both items looked hectic and I was keen to get amongst it. Karl and the family were under the pump during my impromptu visit so we needed to get this party started.
Only one choice of 🥧 this week and that was the famous “Tasmanian Scallop 🥧” Countless people had messaged me and told me this was the only flavored 🥧 I needed to review at this bakery.
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – $9.95 is certainly up there for a scallop 🥧, but nothing outrageous. Others I’ve reviewed on this tour have been around the $8 to $9 range. The 🥧 itself was oval shaped and was satisfactory in height and weight. Not bad in value but others have been cheaper. 8.5/10
2. Meat Ratio – Photos will show the middle of the 🥧 had sunk and more fill could have been added. While it was satisfactory more could have been added to this one. 8.5/10
3. Flavour – Terrific !!! The scallops were fresh and the curry was the perfect blend. Karl and his team have done a good job on this one. Really enjoyed the flavour in this 🥧. 9/10
4. Pastry – Really good. The color, shape and stability were excellent. Only negative was both side bakes were slightly underdone. Nothing major but it has affected the overall score. 9/10
5. Serving Temperature – A smidge hot but nothing major. Overall pretty good. 9.5/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 44.5/50 🥧🥧
As far a scallop 🥧‘s go, this one was pretty good. The flavor was easily my favorite part. The scallops were fresh and the curry mix was the perfect blend. The $9.95 price tag was up there compared to others I’ve reviewed, but it wasn’t over the top. The pastry was really good apart from the side bakes. The stability, color and pastry flavour were all top class. I would have no hesitation trying another one of these beauties. I also tried the lamb rosemary with mint sauce. It was also really good.
This is another bakery you need to add to your own 🥧 tour. If you want to have a traditional wood fire oven 🥧 experience this place is where it’s at. It’s not the biggest bakery I’ve been to, but the selections are endless and the quality speaks for itself. The vanilla slice was easily the best we have had on this Tassie 🥧 Tour and probably the best I’ve ever had. It was truly a masterpiece and the proportion size was huge.
Carl, Kirsty, Abbi and the entire team a massive thanks for having me in on very short notice. Your families story behind this bakery is remarkable. Your bakery is a Tasmanian institution and a place everyone needs to visit. The wood fire oven is the best I’ve ever seen and I’m so privileged to get a back stage pass to see it.
The drive down to Ross was really good and easy. Make sure you stop into Campbell Town it’s a great little town with a stunning bridge as well. These structures have lasted the test of time and are 100% worth seeing. The free camp at Oatlands was a awesome overnight stay. Clean, tidy and right in the centre of town highly recommended.
