Rebecca Barnett is now running the show at the iconic Maldon Bakery, and she's ready to restore the iconic spot to it's former glory through old traditional baking techniques and good quality ingredients.
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"I thought what a wonderful opportunity to make something really fantastic for the town and sort of bring it up to its former glory heyday when it was servicing all the people in the gold rush," Ms Barnett said.
Maldon Bakery - previously known as the Maldon Historic Bakery - was established in 1854, making it one of the longest running bakeries in Australia.
"The Scotch oven was the first brick structure in Maldon so soon as the Gold Rush happened...they basically built the oven," Ms Barnett said.
"And the town sort of popped up around it."
Ms Barnett said when the opportunity arose to buy the bakery, she jumped at it because she saw so much value and potential in it.
"I thought this has fabulous charm, and [there's] potential to grow this business because the bones are all here," she said.
"You've got the magnificent Scotch oven that's built in 1854...and the township is is gorgeous.
"Everyone is so friendly."
The proud new owner said she was a history buff and loved learning about the history of the bakery, town, and the gold rush.
Ms Barnett said she plans to make the bakery traditional by using old baking methods, and good, chemical-free ingredients.
"We've baked off some test loaves and some beautiful barmbrack bread, which is an old Irish Gaelic recipe," she said.
Mrs Barnett has local suppliers providing her with organic flour, wheat, free range eggs, and other high quality ingredients.
"The emphasis is on like old tradition, methodologies, and old traditions in baking," she said
"So we're gonna bring back a lot of the old products like kitchener buns, and a whole whole raft of things like the barmbrack bread, and we just got a saffron butter cake cake today.
"I love creating good food that I'm proud to serve."
Ms Barnett used to work as a teacher at La Trobe University Bendigo until the pandemic hit and she was retrenched.
Following that, she worked in trades but decided it wasn't something she could do long term because it was too physically demanding.
Ms Barnett's roots though are in hospitality.
"Years ago, I had cafes in Melbourne, and a restaurant in Melbourne," she said.
"My first job out of school was in hospitality and I've worked in bakeries a lot."
Owning a bakery is coming full circle for Ms Barnett.
"It's funny coming back into the bakery business," she said.
Ms Barnett also comes from a long and proud line of bakers.
"I've got five generations of baker's in my family," she said.
Ms Barnett said some of her earliest memories were being at her grandparents bakery.
"So it's weird how life turns out," she said.
"You think you're doing one thing.
"And then opportunities arise."
Ms Barnett said the bakery went up for sale early in the year.
"I took over on the first of September," she said.
"Closed for six weeks gave myself about a six week deadline to renovate and repair."
Some of the changes Ms Barnett made to the bakery included expanding the shop front, making the bakehouse more ergonomic, and doing a paint job.
She also wanted to let customers get a taste of history by being able to go in the bakery and see the Scotch oven from 1854.
Ms Barnet said there's a beautiful courtyard next door to the bakery with an ancient pomegranate tree - which is now the bakery garden - that customers are welcome to come and sit in.
"I like utilising this space making it a real hub for the community," she said.
"It'll be a really lovely memorable experience for them."
Maldon Bakery is open Wednesday to Sunday from 7.30am to 4.30pm.
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