An Ex-All Are Welcome Baker Is Delivering Sourdough Around Melbourne’s Inner North

Baker Alex Courtney-Hatcher has a professional background in science. But six years ago, the then-physiotherapist discovered a passion for baking and traded foam rollers for a rolling pin.

Following time working at Pophams Bakery and Padella Pasta in London, the Brit moved to Melbourne two years ago and landed a job at All Are Welcome bakery in Northcote.

Courtney-Hatcher started making and delivering minced tarts to friends and family around Melbourne in December 2022. The baker quit his job as head baker at All Are Welcome last September, transformed a bedroom in his Fitzroy North home into a baking hub that October and began delivering homemade sourdough loaves and other baked goods around Melbourne’s inner north via his online shop, Hatcher Baker last December.

People looking to get their hands on Courtney-Hatcher’s goods can do so by ordering from the Hatcher Baker website at least 48 hours before deliveries are made Wednesdays through Saturdays in two delivery slots (one from 9am to 11am and another from 2pm to 4pm). Delivery is free, but there is a minimum spend of $15.

On offer is a selection of everyday essentials made using local ingredients. These include sourdough loaves prepared over a three-day process using Courtney-Hatcher’s original sourdough starter as well as a trio of sourdough cookies (dark chocolate, brown butter and sea salt).

One standout is what Courtney-Hatcher dubs the “evening baguette”. It’s a standard French baguette that comes out of the oven at night, rather than first thing in the morning as is standard at most bakeries. Through his experimentation with baking times, this classic delicacy transforms into a delightfully fresh dinner option.

Hatcher Baker is an eco-friendly venture. Courtney-Hatcher pedals his way around a three-kilometre radius of his Fitzroy North headquarters, towing a trailer filled with baked goods, delivered straight from oven to door. “Any kind of business, wherever it starts, needs to try and be as environmentally conscious as it can,” he says.

To keep the offerings new and exciting, Courtney-Hatcher tells Broadsheet he plans to change up the bakery’s menu every one to two months. The menu has just been updated for January and February, with new additions including a multi-seed and rye sourdough loaf, a confit sweet capsicum fougasse, a fruit loaf, cardamom buns and breakfast granola.

Plus, on Friday January 26, he’ll add a wattleseed, macadamia and chocolate cookie, with all proceeds going to The Healing Foundation, a charity that supports the voices of the Stolen Generations survivors and their families.

Hatcher Baker delivers within a three-kilometre-radius of its Fitzroy North micro-bakery

hatcherbaker.com.au