Creating Culture
A BELGIAN WITH A PASSION FOR SOURDOUGH HAS BUILT A COMMUNITY AROUND HER BAKERY ON THE BELLARINE PENINSULA.
WORDS PENNY CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY SARAH MILES
Ket Baker’s irresistible sourdough danishes are filled with custard and locally sourced seasonal fruit. FACING PAGE Ket Baker owner Miek Paulus and her husband, Stu Dowell, love life in Wallington, Vic.
The rustic shed cafe is the perfect vibe for the laid-back Bellarine Peninsula.
Sourdough takes shape.
Stu and Miek have chooks, peacocks and goats on the property.
Miek invented her signature lemon chausson pastries when their backyard lemon tree provided a surplus of fruit. They’re now a staple on the Ket Baker menu.
Stu’s homegrown produce is used in the bakery’s savoury pastries such as focaccia.
Miek uses organic and locally grown flours in her products to get a result as close as possible to the bread and pastries in Europe. “It’s really hard to have a European-style flaky pastry in Australia because our soil is different,” she explains. “I use flour from Victoria for my pastries for that reason, because this is the climate that comes closest to the wheat belt in Europe.”