If you’ve ever sat at a cafe and marvelled at how unbelievably good the bread tastes, there’s a fair chance you’re already familiar with Burleigh Baker. The award-winning sourdough has reached icon status and can be found gracing menus all over this fine city as well as its own shopfront at the entrance of James Street in Burleigh Heads. The sourdough is about as far from ‘standard’ as you can get and is created using a long, cool fermentation process that ranges from 12 to 48 hours to develop the dough’s complex flavours, optimise digestibility and taste. There are no shortcuts, just patience and a steadfast commitment to quality and nutrition, something that Geoff Dance (A.K.A the Burleigh Baker) and his wife Lisa are incredibly passionate about. Beyond really (really) excellent bread, Burleigh Baker offers buttery, flaky croissants, sourdough pastries, ready-made sandwiches and tasty pies. A far cry from your Four’n Twenty variety, Burleigh Baker’s pies are made using two types of fermented pastry and filled with quality ingredients such as sous vide chicken that is fermented with koji. That’s the thing with Burleigh Baker, at its heart it’s a simple old-fashioned community bakery however the food here is anything but, even the cookies are made using activated nuts! If you’re feeling particularly peckish, there’s a menu offering a range of more substantial options including a classic Reuben with pastrami, pickled red cabbage, melted vintage cheese and smothered with mustard.