Hold onto your buns and get ready to crumble: Baker’s Dozen is upon us.
Consistently one of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s most popular events, Baker’s Dozen presented by McKenzie’s, sees flocks of bakery fans gather for an epic weekend of indulgence.
2026 is bigger than ever, sprawling from Fed Square to Birrarung Marr in a celebration of all things baked and beautiful. It’s a free-to-attend family friendly showcase of flaky, doughy deliciousness – even the gluten free and vegan will find exquisite dietary-friendly treats.
So what’s hot from the oven? Global tastemakers alongside local legends and exclusive treats with experimental flavour mashups, plus freebies, live entertainment on the Festival Stage and market stalls (including cookware from The Assorted Bunch and HexClad, if you feel inspired). Eat pastries, chill out, maybe win a cookbook, then eat more pastries. Perfect day.
Baker’s Dozen – Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
- When: 28 & 29 March
- Where: Fed Sqaure
- Entry: free
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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As always, a major drawcard at Baker’s Dozen is the one-time-only collabs and special guests.
Dröm is not only serving their calamansi cheesecake, but also a Filipino bundle pack with treats from Sweet Cora and Halaya, Abi Balingit’s world famous adobo choc chip cookies and a special joint creation, the Vegemite yema ensaymada.
As well as whipping up some of their own signature layered delights, Mietta by Rosemary have joined forces with Ottolenghi baking superstar Helen Goh for a pandan, red bean and coconut layer cake.
Head to Masterchef winner Emelia Jackson’s stall for treats like a mocha tres leches and a pandan toasted coconut swiss roll. Sydney’s A.P Bakery & Oji House bring you a loaded muffaletta in shokupan. On the local side, Morning Market is channeling the vibes of Supernormal’s peanut butter parfait into a tart with croissant dough, peanuts and milk chocolate.
Learn from the pros with onstage demos including tart-building with Gareth Whitton of Tarts Anon (don’t miss the corn and jalapeño tart at his stall, either), A.P Bakery showing the secrets of the Bougie Lamington and Jackson sharing her baking know-how.
Goh is sitting down for a Q&A, as is the James Beard-nominated Filipina team from Entrée.Pinays. Love a freebie? Jackson and Goh both have cookbook giveaways and there are numerous prizes to win at the McKenzie’s Flour Power spinning wheel and the FRANKIE4 footwear stall.
Tis the season for bunnies and buns, and the Hot Cross Bun Bar, presented by Western Star, is slinging specialty HCBs from Wild Life, Baker Bleu, Bread Club and Loafer (who also have a vegan HCB).
The famous Butter Butlers have returned, with a suite of slathering options: original, orange zest, matcha, vanilla bean and brown sugar and spice. Or, if you’d prefer your HCB flavours in a flakier form, hit the ever-viral Calle and their hot cross bun croissant wheel or Lune’s hot cross cruffin.
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You’ll find many outlets to satisfy that sweet tooth with Baker’s Dozen, with unexpected flavours to explore.
Try Madeleine de Proust’s croc fat caramel financier, The Flour’s almond dacquoise with Gospel rye-infused smoky hojicha ganache, Amann’s kiwiberry flan, Iris’s macadamia and makrut lime bun or Lumos’s kinako (roasted soybean powder) and matcha croissant.
Monforte Viennoiserie have an autumnal perry and saffron poached pear sando, Lulu & Me are slicing luxurious slabs of Basque cheesecake, Sebby’s Scrolls stocked up with the range (including mini vegan cinnamon scrolls) and Butter Days are aiming straight for the arteries with a butterscotch-soaked “naughty cinnamon scroll” filled with cinnamon butter and topped with brûléed cream cheese, alongside genteel sweets like a fig leaf and hazelnut profiterole.
To Be Frank’s Franco Villalva was part of the Australian panettone championship team that scored third in the world last year, so you’ll want to get your hands on his cherry and pistachio panettone.
Don’t fear the sugar crash; there’s plenty of savoury to share.
Akimbo have a warming beef rendang pie with fermented chilli ketchup and a sesame and seaweed fougasse with maple glaze and Sarafian hummus, and Dua x Raya are flexing the flavour fusion for a mapo tofu pie. Masses Bagels are slicing and topping it tartine-style (with some gluten free options), serving bagels with shishito pepper butter, heirloom tomato and goat’s cheese.
There’s a reuben scroll from Baker of Things, a beef and pickles croissant from Hector’s, a smoked XO trout escargot from Antara, a black garlic and cheese scroll at the Urbanstead X Invy Baker stall and a garlic shiopan with Lard Ass Butter from Little Cardigan.
And it’s gluten-free good times at Kudo with their bánh mi twist, a cheesy potato bread with pâté and chilli sauce, and a bitey buckwheat corn and cheese tartlet, as well as sweet popcorn choux and triple matcha canelé. If that’s worked up a thirst, Dilmah is on-hand with their Elixirs at Quench Club.
But how can you possibly choose with so much on offer?
Pro tip: don’t. Just bring a posse, divide and conquer the Baker’s Dozen queues and reconvene to share the spoils. Grab the napkins and get ready for croissant flakes, cookie crumbs and icing-smeared faces. You’re in for a Fed Square, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival food coma.
For all things Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
