First Look: Sebby’s Scrolls Rolls Into St Kilda

Sebby’s Scrolls founders Sebastian Castro and Annabelle Strahan began baking scrolls during Melbourne’s lockdowns. They developed an ideal scroll recipe and started selling the pillowy bakes to cafes around Melbourne. After (very quickly) outgrowing their home kitchen, Castro and Strahan switched to a commercial kitchen, and, in 2023, opened it as a retail space.

Scrolls are having a moment across Melbourne. From the trays at Calle’s new Northcote bakery to the cinnamon buns at Hot-Listed Hector’s Deli, they’ve become one of the city’s most in-demand pastries. “We’ve loved seeing the rise of scrolls in Melbourne, it’s exciting to see so many new places popping up around the city,” Strahan tells Broadsheet.

But at Sebby’s, the focus remains on doing a few things really well. The Caulfield South store now produces 5000 scrolls a week, and the queues have yet to subside. At the end of last week, the Sebby’s Scrolls team opened a second takeaway shop – this time in St Kilda in the former Black Star Pastry space.

The new store offers the same scroll options as Caulfield South, along with takeaway coffee by Allpress and a selection of sodas. It’s still a grab-and-go setup, but the larger space and higher foot traffic mean one thing: more scrolls for the people.

The scrolls are handmade daily and baked in individual tins to achieve their signature texture: caramelised on the outside, soft and pillowy in the centre. Sebby’s signature cinnamon scrolls are made using Castro’s recipe, which he has fine-tuned over years of baking and experimentation. These golden, gooey spirals are all about soft, buttery dough layered with cinnamon and brown sugar, finished with a thick sweep of cream cheese icing.

In addition to the classic cinnamon scroll, you’ll find a vegan cinnamon, and three savoury options – a cheesymite scroll and two cheesy pizza scrolls. There are also monthly changing specials. The current special is a spinach and feta number, and past flavours have included sticky date pudding, carrot cake and a jam-filled strawberry-doughnut-inspired number.

St Kilda’s opening week saw the return of Sebby’s Bueno scrolls (inspired by the Kinder chocolate bar, finished off with a chocolate drizzle and wafer topping). The Bueno scrolls sold out, of course.

Despite the runaway success, Strahan and Castro haven’t lost their DIY spirit. “We’ve grown pretty organically,” Strahan says. “At the end of the day, it’s just the two of us doing something we love. The fact that people want to line up for it still blows us away.”

Sebby’s Scrolls St Kilda
2C Acland Street, St Kilda
No phone

Hours:
Wed to Sat 7.30am–2pm
Sun 8am–2pm

sebbysscrolls.com
@sebbys.scrolls