With the amount of time we get to spend at home nowadays, it’s no surprise that a lot of people are getting creative with what they can do in their own kitchens. From colorful and unique cakes to artisan bread, you’d be amazed at what you can make for yourself and your loved ones (and your lucky neighbors!). Mornington Peninsula mum and self-taught sourdough baker Anh Rattigan started Sourdough Mate to create a space that could fulfill her two creative passions of real artisanal bread and good design.
Based in Melbourne, Sourdough Mate aims to promote healthier and more digestible bread by making the traditional craft of bread making using flour, water, salt, and wild yeast more accessible. They specialize in German wood pulp proofing bannetons, cane proofing baskets, and handcrafted tools for bakers and bakeries. To achieve this goal, they’ve made prices fair and competitive, offered personable services, and most importantly made their sharing of knowledge quite generous.
“We strive for quality and everyday functionality. We believe that good bread can be achieved by bakers of all levels and skills, wherever you may be on your bread journey.”
Sustainability means a lot to the baking brand as they strongly feel a responsibility to minimize the waste being thrown into the landfills. They use 100% sustainable materials for all their proofing baskets and avoid using plastic in their products and shipping materials. All their packaging is designed to break down, which is why they also use Compostable Mailers from noissue. Moreover, Sourdough Mate promotes the use of sustainable flours and supporting local grain growers or farmers who are ASP Certified and who use regenerative farming practices.
As a mum and a self-taught baker, Anh faced a couple of challenges in setting up an e-commerce business. From using and promoting natural materials in their products to ensuring that the materials used in their baskets and tools are sustainable, navigating through different resources and importing them was one of Anh’s biggest challenges. Despite this, her advice to other aspiring bakers who want to start their own businesses is to just do it. Especially if you know that you love what you’re doing, turning your hobby into a business will allow you to share your skill with your customers who can learn from you as well.
Anh loves to bake bread and through starting Sourdough Mate, she also got to hone her skills in designing her website and Instagram page. Like hitting two birds with one stone, she uses all her skills to offer her customers a point of reference that they can learn from. This way, anyone, and everyone can really make top-tier quality bread from the comforts of their home and at an affordable price. So what are you waiting for? Your sourdough journey awaits!
Find more of Sourdough Mate here:
Website: sourdoughmate.com.au
Instagram: @sourdough_mate
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