Daily Bread

A storied sourdough starter, sea air and the expert hands of artisan bakers make Iggy’s Bread a Sydney favourite. Step inside for the ultimate proof.

- David Matthews

Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic’s sourdough starter was born in Boston. They brought it with them when they came to open a bakery in Sydney in 2008. A decade later it’s a product of its place, populated by local yeasts and bacteria from the Bronte air, and from the hands of the people who work it every morning. “It’s not about how old it is,” says Igor, “it’s about how you’re managing it.” Iggy’s makes bread, but really it starts with people. Milos, a former electrician from Belgrade, for example, has worked here for five years; Linda, a trained pastry chef from Indonesia, has been here seven. The rest is an obsession with detail: stringently filtered water, stone-ground and roller-ground flour from Wholegrain Milling, mineral-rich Himalayan salt. These ingredients are mixed with a portion of the starter to form the dough, which is packed into tubs and left to prove, the times scribbled onto the side of stainless steel equipment.