RedBeard Bakery

Trentham’s original bakery – on the site of RedBeard – used our Scotch oven continuously from 1891 to 1987. The first baker, John Wolff, mixed and shaped all his doughs by hand and fired the oven with local timber. Little changed in the next 100 years, as John was followed by bakers Charlie Rook, his son Jack Rook, and finally Jack Groves, who died from a heart attack on the job in 1986. His family struggled to keep the bakery going, but could not compete with the factory-made bread that now dominates supermarket shelves. The bakery lay dormant for nearly two decades, until Adrian Kosky, from Daylesford, breathed new life into the property with an extensive renovation. The oven was in surprisingly good condition – only the floor needed replacing and the original cast-iron doors had to be found and refitted.

Brothers John and Alan Reid discovered the renovated bakery in 2005 and instantly saw its potential for producing large volumes of high quality sourdough bread and other delights. They chose the name RedBeard for the business because their surname comes from a Scottish clan known for their red hair and beards.

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