First Look: Heart Bakes Brings Its Pillowy Scrolls to a New South Melbourne Bakery

Melbourne loves a good cinnamon scroll, and few bakeries have fuelled the city’s obsession quite like Heart Bakes in Port Melbourne. The neighbourhood bakery opened in late 2019, just months before the pandemic. Despite the challenging start, it steadily built a loyal following of locals with its cookies, madeleines, lamingtons and other classic bakes. But in 2023, Heart Bakes’ cinnamon scrolls took off on social media and the team doubled down, making scrolls the bakery’s specialty.

While opening a second bakery wasn’t part of the original plan, it became the natural next step. Now, after a yearlong search for a site and a six-month renovation, owners Jiah and Jamie Min have opened a new bakery Dance Bakes in South Melbourne.

The scrolls will undoubtedly still draw crowds, but the new bakery gives the team space to expand the offering and the owners hope it will become known for something more.

“We want to bring more Korean culture into the bakery and create something that’s a bit more fun and playful,” Jiah says. When the bakery, which is currently in a soft opening phase pending further council approvals, officially launches, you can expect sandwiches, sogeum-ppang (Korean salt bread) and a new signature Korean-style cream coffee.

For now, Dance Bakes has four scrolls: its signature cinnamon scroll; banoffee with salted caramel, banana and chocolate crumble; Mont Blanc, with Dukes espresso incorporated in the dough and topped with a cinnamon, nutmeg and orange icing; and a savoury three-cheese and Vegemite scroll topped with gruyere.

The scrolls have already proven just as popular as they are across the river. During its first weekend, Dance Bakes made and sold more than 800 scrolls each day and sold out before 1pm on Sunday.

The team, led by head baker Gigi Chaiyarat, starts baking at 5am, mixing, rolling and proofing dough before the first scrolls come out of the oven at 8am. The recipe is continually refined. The team recently started adding milk to the dough, helping create a soft, pillowy texture. “The hardest part is making sure every scroll is consistent every day,” Chaiyarat says.

For Jiah and Jamie, Heart Bakes and now Dance Bakes have always been about more than pastries. “We want people to feel happy, cheerful and full of joy,” Jiah says.

The cinnamon scrolls might be what first brings you through the door, but it’s the warmth of the team, the welcoming atmosphere and the sense of community carried over from Heart Bakes that the Mins hope will keep you coming back.

Dance Bakes
11 Union Street, Melbourne

Hours:
Daily 8am–3pm

@dancebakesmelbourne