Homestyle
Bakery

Jan 2019
$3.40
Donut from Homestyle Bakery, Mount Gambier

Early in January of 2019 we packed up our car full of food, wine and camping gear and headed to Victoria to explore the Grampians and Great Ocean Road. It was a great trip – besides the occasional raucous camping neighbour – and I would highly recommend taking time out of your chaotic life to spend time with a loved one, in the wild, with no mobile phone reception. The trip also provided ample opportunities to try some regional South Australian bakeries as we drove from Adelaide to the Victorian border and then back again nine days later. After our Victorian adventure, and heading back home, we found ourselves in Mount Gambier – perfectly timed for morning tea and feeling peckish.

Several of our friends grew up in Mt. Gambier, so we asked them: out of all the bakeries in the area which one should we review for the blog? We were directed to two bakeries; firstly, OK Pie Shop and secondly, Homestyle Bakery. The OK Pie Shop grabbed my attention because who calls themselves only ‘OK’ rather than ‘Great’ or ‘Phenomenal’ – was it humility or were they really only just ‘ok’? It sits in a cute little central shopping district, the hub of Mt. Gambier, and was filled with elderly ladies gossiping. Disappointingly, the shop only had jam donuts, which don’t meet our blog criteria. So, we moved on.

Homestyle Bakery, Mount Gambier
Homestyle Bakery,
Wehl Street South, Mount Gambier
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The second recommendation was Homestyle Bakery, a few streets over. OK Pie Shop was crammed in a tight shopping district with a distinct lack of parking. Homestyle Bakery, on the other hand, sat independent, next to a train yard converted into a pleasant reserve, with a large parking lot that baked in the sun. Homestyle Bakery had a great selection of pies as well as many delicious looking donuts and other baked and fried sweets. The server was friendly and seemed to know the locals well, with a high volume of foot traffic in and out of their doors. There wasn’t much seating, and the weather was pleasant, so we took a couple of pies and a donut to share outside, sitting at some tables and chairs by the reserve and man-made pond. We were quickly joined by a waggle of waddling ducks that clearly were used to more generous patrons than ourselves, squawking in dismay when they got none of our crumbs.

Aesthetics 7

The donut was topped with light chocolate icing and a small number of sprinkles across one third. The dough was a nice golden brown and was generous in size – although expanding vertically rather than horizontally. The dough was slightly dented and a bit patchy and lumpy with icing coverage.

Topping 8

The sprinkles were crunchy and fresh. The chocolate icing was a fake flavour, rather than genuine (as so many are), but not obnoxious and above average compared to other chocolate flavours. The texture of the icing was good but thin.

Dough 8.5

The dough was yeasty with a good amount of sweetness. It could have been a tad more salted. It didn't have an oily taste which was nice, but still tasted very fresh – like it had been made only minutes before.

Texture 9

The texture of the dough was top-notch. It had a perfect chewiness, it was fresh, it had a good spring from the first bite and was soft through to the centre. The crunch only came from the sprinkles, rather than the outer dough shell, and the icing was a bit on the thin side, but otherwise excellent.

Overall

8.1

Heavenly Delight

I really enjoyed this donut. For me, it encapsulated a great South Aussie donut – simple and understated, generous, delicious, fresh and homemade. I would definitely return should we wander back through Mt. Gambier one day.

  • Aesthetics: 7
  • Topping: 8
  • Dough: 8.5
  • Texture: 9

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