Bütterken Bakery

Follow the line of people down Mount Eliza Way, and you’ll likely end up at Bütterken Bakery. Each morning, the German-style bakery pumps out sourdough baked goods and Commonfolk Coffee to hoards of locals collecting their daily bread.

Inside, freestanding racks are stacked with artisan loaves including their signature Bütterken Sourdough, Poppy and Flaxseed, and German Rye. Piles of pretzels are hand-rolled daily and fermented overnight, with the team swinging 300 a day on weekends. Baked to perfection and sprinkled with sea salt, you can try one plain, buttered, dusted with icing sugar, or slathered in cream cheese and chives.

If you’re after something sweet, grab a pack of heidesand – a traditional browned butter shortbread – or go all out and order the bienenstich – a German classic which translates to 'beesting' and features layers of brioche filled with custard and topped with toffee almonds. Park yourself on the front high tables to watch the crew in action, or head out the back to find a quiet undercover dining space.

Owners Anita and Hendrik opened the bakery in 2022, having spent five years working on the concept. The pair met whilst travelling abroad, with Hendrik lamenting the lack of good bread available. “Bakery culture is a huge thing in Europe,” says Anita. “When you ask Germans what they miss from home, they usually say beer first, but then it’s always bread”. German bread is dense and deeply nutritious; a slab of schwarzbrot is sliced thin and eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The name ‘Bütterken’ is regional slang for their daily dose of bread and butter.  

The pair hope they can shift the local perception of bread, which has gotten a bad rap due to the ultra-processed, mass-produced loaves on supermarket shelves. “In Australia, chain stores use enhancers and improvers in their bread so that no matter who touches it, it will always rise and it will always be the same. With sourdough, you need to be able to problem-solve. It’s a living, organic product that takes time to master.”

As a sourdough bakery, their focus is on nutrition, using organic whole grains and proper fermentation techniques. Each loaf is handcrafted using an organic sourdough starter and slow-fermented for 24-48 hours. It’s labour-intensive work that involves a 5am start each morning. Though Hendrik has a degree in biochemistry, he explains that baking has less to do with structure and composition and “more to do with time, temperature and touch.”

“We’re big on transparency. We want people to know what’s in their food, who makes it and how it’s made,” says Anita. Whilst the recipes are distinctly European, the produce is local and seasonal. Organic and wholegrain flours are sourced from Wholegrain Milling Co, with fresh fruit and vegetables from Mount Eliza Village Fruits. A massive glass frontage allows you to see the baking in process, with Hendrik leading a small team through the daily bake.

In 2024, the bakery expanded its sweet and savoury production, taking over a secondary space at the back for patisserie. Whilst the bread needs heat to rise, the pastry room is kept at a chilly 18 degrees. The team now skip between the two spaces wheeling racks of dinelle (German sourdough pizza) or trays of freshly baked sourdough croissants. You’ll have to get in early if you want to secure a loaf of black or olive bread on the weekend though, as the bakery has become a hotspot for German tourists stocking up on baked goods from home.

You’ll find Bütterken Bakery’s ovens on and doors open Tuesday – Sunday from 8am.