By milling its own flour, this local bakery doesn’t just make better bread, it builds stronger communities
Miller + Baker
Oven$
Can a bakery be classified as a restaurant?
I think so if you define a restaurant as a place where customers can buy something to eat and drink, sit down and enjoy shopping.
That means Miller + Baker (a bakery-cafe with indoor counters on the north bridge and some tables and chairs scattered along the walkway on Lake Street) certainly fits the description.
But what if you decide to open a bakery that is much more than just a place to eat? I’m not sure if this was Rachel and Mark Taylor’s goal when they opened Miller + Baker in the former home of Italian bakery Casa del Dolce in 2019, but seven years later the Taylors’ Little-Corner-Bakery-That-Could feels like more than just a place to buy bread.
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Inspired by the sourdough and organic food culture the couple enjoyed while living in Copenhagen, the Taylors returned to Perth and were keen to recreate their experience.
The taste and nutritional value of sourdough bread made from good wheat was one of these lessons.
Fate led the Taylors to the Heggarty family, founders of Natural Intelligence Farming and owners of a wheat farm at Mollerin in the Wheatbelt.
The Heggartys’ approach to regenerative agriculture — in short, a pesticide-free system that eschews chemical inputs in favor of natural approaches that improve soil health — resonated with what the Taylors were looking for.
Once the supply of wheat (and occasionally rye) stabilized, they began to learn the intricacies of the stone mill they had purchased from America and began turning this single-origin grain into freshly milled flour: more nutritious and more flavorful than commercial flours available commercially.
But don’t take my word for it; Take home one of the bakery’s Millers sourdough loaves and try it for yourself. A hefty rugby ball loaf containing more whole wheat flour than any other Miller + Baker product, its dense crumb is the color of milk tea and reveals bold flashes of wheat richness with every chew. This is not a bread that someone who needs a neutral, flavorless environment would buy.
It’s also not a big seller. Or at least according to the Taylors, it has a crumb that is springier and has fluffier air pockets, due to the reduced proportion of whole wheat flour, compared to the bakery’s regular classic sourdough.
You can also grab the classic sourdough loaf to-go, but if you want to enjoy it on-site, there’s a glass case full of great pre-made sandwiches eager to meet you.
While the crooners rely on combinations that should be familiar to most — roast beef, ham and cheese, chicken and salad — small details in the kitchen ensure that the meal guests eat feels less lunch bar and more café.
For the chicken salad trick, for example, the chicken is roasted in-house and moistened with a vinaigrette that packs a healthy jolt of acid. The result is a flavor closer to Eastern European potato salad.
Served on aerated baguettes that are chewy rather than crunchy, the roast beef roll is made from good ingredients that are slowly poached on the spot until they become soft and pliable.
To finish: a cheerful chimichurri dip that has more to say than most of the lackluster versions served around town. The top half of the ham and cheese baguette is smeared with hot English mustard, while the bottom is covered in thick smears of hazelnut brown butter. The recent sighting of free agent consultant chef Frankie Dawson walking the boards in the Miller + Baker kitchen can only mean good things for the menu.
You will also spy on other people tending to the bakery. Perth chef Steven Jackson, owner of Miss Jackson cafe in St Kilda, has been running the kitchen for the past two years, while baker Emanuele Vittozzi has been keeping a close eye on the bakeries. Between them, they make the pork and fennel sausage roll turn out chunky in the best way possible; croissants are a healthy mix of crunchy and cottony soft; and where two-crust pies – cookie tins, puff pastry lids – take off.
Beyond supporting small producers and quietly raising awareness of good agriculture and nutrition, Miller + Baker is building communities in other ways, too. The Taylors are cheerful partners Parkbaşı Coffee down the road; They opened another outpost on Hobart Street in North Perth; cheerful staff host a running club; plus the space next to the oven is now Mill Chamber of Commercea polished home goods store. It’s amazing what you can achieve by rethinking what a bakery can be.
Down
Atmosphere: The best neighborhood bakery since sliced (stone ground, sourdough) bread
Dishes to use: beef and chimichurri baguette, beef and red wine pie, ham and Gruyere croissant
Beverages: Roasted coffee by Good People Nice Things plus teas, spiced lattes and other cafe favorites
Cost: Approximately $40 for two, excluding drinks and takeaway treats for later
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and independently paid. A restaurant cannot pay for a review or inclusion on a list. Good Food Guide.
Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel in national and international publications for over 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.
