In The Kitchen With… Michael & Pippa James from Urbanstead

Sourdough, seasonality, and the craft of baking as community.

There's a particular kind of magic that happens in a great bakery. The smell of bread pulling from the oven. The quiet ritual of feeding a starter. The way regulars become neighbours and neighbours become friends. For Michael and Pippa James of Urbanstead, Melbourne's newest chapter in a story that stretches from Michelin-starred kitchens in London to the beloved Tivoli Road Bakery in South Yarra, baking has always been about more than bread. It's about connection. To the seasons. To the farmers. To the people who walk through the door.

We sat down with Michael and Pippa to talk about sourdough starters and autumn galettes, demystifying the mystery of bread, and why the bakery will always be the heart of a community. And of course, we got the recipe.

Bread-making is often described as both a craft and a ritual. What first drew you to baking, and when did you realise it was something you wanted to master rather than simply enjoy?

I kind of stumbled across sourdough bread-making from my curiosity working in Michelin-starred kitchens in London. I'd work in the meat or fish sections, then hang around to help in pastry, asking lots of questions, and that eventually led to me making bread for the restaurants.

Then, on my breaks, I'd wander into Harrods in Knightsbridge and spend hours reading Dan Lepard's brilliant book The Handmade Loaf. That was a fascinating insight into the sourdough world. It's part science, part craft, and every day is different depending on the seasons, the flour, or the technique. I was completely hooked.

There's a rhythm to baking, feeding starters, resting dough, watching the seasons change around you. What does a typical day in your kitchen look like, and how does that rhythm shape the way you work?

The most important thing in our bakery is the feeding of the sourdough starter, twice a day, and sometimes three times depending on the weather. We start at 5:30am, baking the sourdough that was made and shaped the day before.

At the same time, we're mixing a new batch in our spiral bread mixer for about 30 minutes. We prove the dough through the morning, cut and shape it around 10am, and leave it to prove at 26°C for about two hours. Once it's almost fully risen, we put it into the fridge to slow-prove overnight, developing more flavour and baking it fresh the next day. So it's a continuous cycle: bake, mix, shape, prove, all running side by side.

In the gaps, we prepare croissant dough, cookies, galettes, pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, and we're always adjusting to the seasons. We're a new bakery in Abbotsford and we feel every change in weather. We go through all of that in depth in our sourdough bread classes on weekends.

For many home bakers, bread can feel mysterious or even intimidating. When you're teaching through your books or classes, what are the biggest misconceptions you try to demystify?

It's like you can't edit a blank page, you just have to start somewhere. That's why we have all stages of sourdough bread-making ready for students to work with in our hands-on classes. We have plenty of dough to practise with, because making mistakes and actually doing it is the best way to learn.

The goal is to give people confidence. To encourage them to ask lots of questions and just have a go. And one simple tip that makes a big difference: don't have too much sourdough starter. Less is more. Get into the habit of feeding it regularly, twice a day for a few days in the lead-up to baking, and you'll be surprised how far you get.

Your work feels deeply rooted in seasonality. As we move into autumn in Australia, what ingredients, flavours or bakes start calling your name?

We source from wonderful local farmers, Days Walk Farm, Somerset Heritage, Force of Nature, and we go directly to the farmers' market, which keeps us very in touch with the seasons and whatever challenges come with them, whether that's a hot dry stretch or too much rain.

Right now we have fig and almond galettes on the menu, which are a real favourite, and a pumpkin, walnut and blue cheese galette that I love. We plan our whole menu around what's available from our suppliers at any given time. That's the challenge and the inspiration, being led by what the season offers.

You've written across several books now, from The Tivoli Road Baker to Sweet Seasons and All Day Baking. Do you feel each one represents a different stage in your journey as a baker?

Very much so. The Tivoli Road Baker was a real moment in time, it captured what we were doing in that small South Yarra space where we tried to do everything and please everyone. We learnt that simply isn't sustainable.

All Day Baking brought in the savoury bakes that didn't make the first book, and it's also a reflection of how Pippa and I actually eat and cook at home. And Sweet Seasons is full of nostalgic bakes from our different backgrounds, inspirations from all over the world, and a lot of what you'll find on our menu at Urbanstead right now.

There's something incredibly grounding about baking bread at home. Why do you think people are drawn to the process, especially in a world that moves so quickly?

During COVID, a lot of people finally took the time to sit down, read about it, watch it online, and just have a go. And many are still baking, some have even opened their own bakeries. Melbourne now has a whole generation of bakers who came from that era, which is wonderful.

But equally, a lot of people did give up, and I think that's valuable too, it created a real respect for the time and effort that artisan bakers put into making great sourdough.

Tools play such an important role in baking. Are there particular pieces in your kitchen that you reach for again and again?

For amazing results at home, you need a lot of residual heat. The best way to achieve that is with a solid cast iron pot, like the Crumble Bread Oven. Give it 20 to 30 minutes to fully heat up. If your fermentation and mixing are right, a very hot oven will give you that kick, the rise and the golden crust, that's the thing I'd take most from a professional bakery setting. It's very effective, and you can do everything else entirely by hand.

The bakery is often described as a place of community. How have you seen baking bring people together?

That's exactly why we do what we do. The heart of a community is its bakery, and it's what we missed most after selling Tivoli Road. We missed the connection between the farmers, the makers, and the people who came through the door every morning.

At Urbanstead, we're proud to tell our customers exactly where things come from and how they're made. Our butter is from the Bellarine Peninsula, we don't use European butter like many Melbourne bakers. Our flour is organic or biodynamic and sourced locally. Our eggs are from Gippsland pasture, our coffee from Market Lane, our chocolate from Carrum Downs.

We also founded and run GrAiNZ, a local grain gathering conference that brings together farmers, millers, researchers and bakers to share knowledge and celebrate our industry. Community isn't just something that happens in the bakery, it's something we're actively working to build.

For someone just beginning their bread-making journey at home, what's the one mindset shift that makes the biggest difference?

Less is more, in every sense, at every step. You don't need masses of sourdough starter. A little goes a long way. Feed it at least daily, maintain a good temperature for fermentation, and don't overthink it.

Take a few moments to read the recipe. Then just give it a go.

Finally, if someone were to spend an autumn afternoon baking from one of your books, what would you suggest they start with, and why?

Pumpkin. I'd suggest making the spelt flaky pastry and baking the pumpkin, blue cheese and walnut galette, it's a beautiful way to connect with the season.

You can use spelt flour, whole wheat, or just whatever you have on hand. Make a batch and freeze some for another time. Or go sweet, an apple crumble galette with a little crème fraîche on top is absolutely lovely.

Either way, you get something to enjoy and savour at the end of the afternoon. Ideally with friends and family around the table.

Michael and Pippa James are the bakers and authors behind Urbanstead, Abbotsford. Their books, The Tivoli Road Baker, All Day Baking and Sweet Seasons, are available now. Find them at urbanstead.au or follow along at @urbanstead_au.

The sourdough loaves and fried chicken sandwich at Urbanstead are made with the Crumble Bread Oven and Crumble Air Fryer. Shop the full cast iron range at crumble.co.