Northern Beaches | Tasty treats | Wild Yeast FNQ
CityLife
Northern Beaches
Tasty treats
Wild Yeast FNQ
Words by Stacey Carrick
Wild Yeast FNQ’s owners Chris and Alicia Schwarz are passionate about baking and creating delicious treats for the Cairns community.
Locals have shown overwhelming support to the couple since they opened their Trinity Beach store three years ago.
Wild Yeast expanded with the opening of their Kewarra Beach store in January this year.
Their specialty product is their sour dough.
“Sourdough is our main focus and our passion here in our business,” Chris said.
“It’s a traditional sour dough that only has three ingredients – flour, water and salt.
“It’s fermented for 24 to 36 hours then we bake it on a hot stone, which gives it a really nice crust.
“Sourdough has gone through the fad stage now. I think people understand, rather than just being trendy, that there’s health benefits in it.
“The long fermentation breaks down all the starches and the sugars in the bread, which makes it easier to digest and makes it tastier because the sugar in the bread becomes caramelised when baked.
“It’s light and airy and has a really beautiful texture. We also find it’s really moreish, you feel like more, rather than feeling bloated.”
One of Wild Yeast’s best sellers is their gourmet tart range, with their lemon meringue, lemon, passionfruit, caramel, Banoffee, Basque cheesecake and almond tarts guaranteed to tantalise your taste buds.
There is a huge range of products on offer, with something for everyone, including sausage rolls and pies made with chunky beef, as well as danishes and croissants.
You will also find brownies, fruit flans, banana bread, vanilla slice, carrot cake and quiches.
All of Wild Yeast FNQ’s products are handmade on premises.
“Customers can watch us making our products,” Chris said.
“We have a window leading straight into our baking area.
“Customers feel welcome when they come into our shop, we know most of them by name and we get to know their orders as well.
“It’s those things people like when they visit a coffee shop or a bakery.”
Chris and Alicia moved from Sydney to Cairns for a lifestyle change.
“The Trinity Beach community has embraced us really nicely,” Chris said.
“Cairns is relaxing, there’s no traffic, you go for a walk and people say hello; it’s just a different lifestyle.
“We wanted to create a niche product, something that would stand out, and we felt the beaches needed something that was different.
“We found a good location and customers who gave us a chance.
“It’s been overwhelming – we haven’t advertised, our business has grown through word of mouth.
“We’ve had customers who’ve been with us from day one and they bring people in to show them our bakery. We feel a real sense of community here and we feel part of people’s lives.”
Chris said Wild Yeast is a family-run bakery.
“My wife and kids, including my brother Rick all work here, as well as close friends and their children,” he said.
“The bakery is our passion, we don’t do it because it’s our job, we do it because we love what we do.”
* For further information, phone Chris on 0451 921 005
Opening hours
Trinity Beach
Mon-Fri 6am-2pm
Sat 7am-1pm
Sun 7am-12.30pm
Kewarra Beach
Mon closed
Tues-Fri 6am-12.30pm
Sat and Sun 7am-12.30pm
Wild Yeast FNQ
