Join baker Michael James and partner in life and work Pippa James as they welcome you into the Tivoli Road Bakery community.
As a chef who was captivated by the craft of baking, Michael’s first aim is to inspire you to make nourishing real bread at home and to give you the confidence to adapt it to suit your own tastes.
And from there, you fly: olive loaf; fruit sourdough; spelt and honey loaf; wholegrain rye and buttermilk loaf; sprouted buckwheat loaf. A new bread, if you dare, for every day.
As well, across 80-plus recipes, Michael shares the secrets of some of Tivoli Road’s best-loved creations. The treats that Melburnians cross town for: pork and fennel sausage rolls, doughnuts, palmiers, tarts, scones, galettes, exquisite canelés, salads and a remarkably memorable repertoire of sandwiches.
It’s all rounded out with seasonal favourites, including hot cross buns and Christmas cake, plus inventive native Australian flavours such as redgum honey and wattleseed. You’ll find bakers’ basics and the keys to a good larder, as well as a nod to Michael’s British heritage courtesy of traditional Cornish pasties, saffron buns and Eccles cakes.
And, along the way, meet the beloved growers and suppliers that Michael and Pippa credit as being so important to the success of their little South Yarra bakery.