Year of Local – Meet the Producers

by Maple Street Co-op

Run by the community for the community, the Maple Street Co-op in Maleny celebrates ‘Year of Local’ for 2023, highlighting local producers, farmers, suppliers and growers, whose organic, wholesome and ethical products and produce can be found in this homely store.

Crystal Waters Bakery

Five years ago, the Crystal Waters Bakery was taken over by a young family hungry for adventure. Baking organic, leavened sourdough bread in a decorated wood-fired oven, Chiya, Bernard, Julie, and Lio have continued the legacy that began in Crystal Waters Permaculture Eco Village nearly 19 years ago.

French baker Bernard Devos shared with us some of the behind-the-scenes production at the bakery.

“This bakery is a love story. We wanted to connect to our community and work in a place where we could watch our kids grow. Crystal Waters is the perfect place to build relationships with our neighbours, and feed them food we’re proud of. Rather than move towards a big, fast production, we like to keep our shop small, local, and focused on quality.

“Our sourdough bread, croissants and danishes are all made with organic ingredients, from the Australian flour and New Zealand butter (which is just as good as French butter!) to all of the savoury and sweet add-ins.

What matters most for Bernard is how it tastes. “We’re looking for rich, balanced flavours and the perfect amount of chew.”

This all starts with the wood-fired oven. Bernard and his family cut and collect local lumber to fuel the fire and maintain the appropriate temperature, which can be very tricky in this climate.

“The type and quality of the wood and daily changes in weather can all affect the outcome of the bread, but it’s worth it. Electric ovens just aren’t the same. My dream is that our kids continue to keep wood-fired ovens alive.”

“The average production of the bread takes about three days, with the natural 20-hour leaven fermentation process. That means a lot of late nights and early mornings preparing all the dough.

“Everything is worked by hand and baked with love. We make sweet breads like Fruit and Nut and more savoury ones, like our popular Olive and Feta, in addition to our danishes and croissants.

“We have poured everything we are into this bakery, and we’d like to thank the Maple Street Co-op and the Maleny Co-op team for all of their support through the years.

“Thank you especially to our loyal customers and for every person who has bought from us. Our bread is a product of a lot of love and care, and we hope that you can taste it in every bite. We can’t wait to see you soon. Merci beaucoup!”

The bakery is open every Saturday morning between 8am and 12pm in Crystal Waters, and you can also find their sourdough bread in the Maleny Co-op and at Montville and Witta Markets.

Maple Street Co-op, 37 Maple St, Maleny 4552 / maplestreet.coop / facebook.com/crystalwatersbakery