Lagom Bakery — Restaurant in Burrill Lake

(4.5 stars) Lagom Bakery is the best bakery I’ve tried in the Shoalhaven region. It’s located on a slip road in Burrill Lake, right near a good spot to buy local seafood. It’s hella popular, even on an icy morning when the feels like temperature was four degrees. The queue moved quickly though, and the shelves were well-supplied. They bake so many breads, they’re on a rotating roster, published on their website. The sourdough is slow fermented and easy to digest without being punishingly crusty. Try it on a well-priced Reuben ($11). It’s also well-balanced, tasting of cabbage and corned beef rather than an overload of cheese or too-much Russian dressing.

Meats and charcuterie are sourced from Martin’s Ridge Farm, just on the other side of Milton. The lonza (dry cured pork loin) is a standout on slabs of pizza ($6) with mushrooms and Reggiano. Savoury danishes are my weakness, so for breakfast I went straight for the mushroom and goat’s cheese danish ($7). The sweet range is also impressive, with some innovations, like a mango, crème patisserie and macadamia crumble danish ($7) and a filled cruffin ($7) with an Italianate stuffing of ricotta, crème patisserie and pistachio.

Coffees, by Guerrilla Roasters in Moruya, were good across a strong flat white ($5.80) and strong cappuccino ($5.80). The product range, both in the fridges and neatly arranged on blonde wood shelves, is also worth checking out. There are lots of locally sourced items, plus some imports that might be otherwise hard to find in the Shoalhaven area. We liked this bakery so much, we returned to take home pizza and Turkish rolls ($1.50/each) for lunch...

In the South Coast, a short drive from Ulladulla at Burrill Lakes is Lagom Bakery, the lakeside store selling a range of sourdough, viennoiserie and savoury treats as well as some artisan pantry products. Lagom, Swedish for 'Just the right amount' is the motto of the store, using ‘just the right amount of - quality ingredients to produce their perfected baked goods. Their slowly fermented loves are available in different varieties; house loaf, fruit loaf, health loaf, multigrain, organic rye, raisin and walnut, sesame seed boule, seedy house, rustic white, olive and herb, jalepeno, olive fougasse and baguettes. You’ll also find fruit buns and bagels, croissants, cinnamon scrolls and savoury scrolls. Even better, there’s also toasties, pizza slabs, muffins, cakes and cookies. We got a sesame ring, that we ate just with a slather of butter and we also had a great almond croissant. Get in early before they sell out.

For the coffee, takeaway is available. Coffee is by Guerilla Roasters - locally roasted in Moruya, small batch coffee that uses ethically sourced beans. If you’re not a coffee lover, there’s also sodas, cold pressed...

Croissant 4* muffin 1* Country bakeries are instantly better, right? All that visit of bricks and fires and bakers in bibs, covered in sweat and flour. The bread looks good here, but I'm reviewing the croissant and muffin. When you're open 6 hours, and charging full Sydney prices, you should be baking your croissant every 2 hours or so. The base of this croissant is very good. But it suffers from too much time in a steamy display. My sense is they were stacked while warm, losing their crispness in the steam and time. The muffin is a real problem. Again, full price for what is essentially a muffin bottom. But the size is a minor problem. The major problem is the recipe. The crumb is just not there. I suspect too much egg and not enough butter, but that's not my role here. It's just not a pleasant eat. As I said, I suspect the bread's the trip here. But if it's for sale, I'm a...