Red Cliffs baker hopes for a bread winner

LOCAL baker Giovanni Barbera has given a derelict Red Cliffs bake house a new lease of life.

Mr Barbera moved Gio’s Bread, the business he established two years ago, to the Heath Street premises at the start of the year.

The bakery opens weekly on Mondays and Fridays, selling an array of freshly baked breads and buns, all hand-crafted the night before by Mr Barbera.

“I bake lots of varieties, such as spelt, foccacias, semolina and sourdoughs, even spelt pasta,” he said.

Establishing his own bakery has always been in the pipeline. Mr Barbera says the space, which houses a large antique Scotch oven, was the “perfect choice”.

“It took 12 months to set up. It needed a lot of work as it was abandoned for some time, but I loved the building,” he said.

“Little by little, we renovated it. I was lucky with a few things that were given to me second-hand.

“The stone mill I got through a small-scale farmer’s government grant, which was fantastic.”

Sicilian-born Mr Barbera arrived in Mildura seven years ago on a working holiday visa. After falling in love with the area and meeting his wife Vicki, he has since called the region home.

He attributes some of his success to the support he’s received from the local Italian community.

“Being Italian in an area where there is such a large community definitely helped me integrate.

“I wanted to pick up the tradition of bread making, which is something Italian families seemed to have drifted away from.

“It seems to have been lost over time, young generations grew up eating good Italian bread but they’re not making it.”

Mr Barbera uses traditional methods to make his artisan goods.

“I adopt very traditional methods, I don’t use the same as most conventional bakeries.

“I always take time to let the bread ferment, something I feel is very important. But it is time-consuming.”

Mr Barbera says the bakery’s arrival had been “warmly” welcomed by the local community, something he was “extremely grateful for”.

Gio’s Bread is available at the shop on Mondays and Fridays 8pm-2pm and at Sunraysia Farmers Markets and Red Cliffs and Robinvale country markets.