Queenstown’s #1 premium loaf – crafted for adventure, now NZ-wide.

It’s not unusual for visitors to leave Queenstown with their luggage stuffed full of bread.

The town’s European Bakery is renowned for its loaves – especially its multigrain sourdough – and tourists often squeeze one or two into their suitcase along with other mementos of their stay.

“We get people stopping in on the way to the airport and filling up their bags to take home,” says owner Peter Price. “And we get a lot of emails saying, ‘I had some of your sourdough while I was in Queenstown and I’ve never tasted anything like it – you make the best sourdough in New Zealand’.”

As well as their Frankton shop, Price and his wife Amanda O’Donoghue also have a commercial bakery that supplies bread to stores, eateries and supermarkets in Queenstown, Wānaka, Invercargill and Dunedin.

Now, amid soaring demand for the multigrain sourdough, they’ve launched a subscription service that delivers that particular loaf fortnightly, monthly, or as a one-off, anywhere in New Zealand.

“People ask all the time if it’s possible to get some couriered to them,” says O’Donoghue. “They say things like, ‘I wish you would stretch as far as Auckland’. So a subscription service is a way of doing that.”

O’Donoghue and Price have run European Bakery since 2019, when they bought it from a Swiss-German couple who started the business around 21 years ago. Both have previously worked in hotels, while Price also has a background in banking and O’Donoghue had made chocolate for five years.

“After the challenges of a chocolate business, I thought long and hard about buying a business that involved making and selling something on the same day, then I heard the European Bakery was for sale and I said, ‘Oh, that’s a different story’,” recalls O’Donoghue, who was a customer and big fan of the bread herself. “It had a great reputation for quality.”

Taking on a beloved local business was a big responsibility – especially with no baking experience – but they quickly became passionate about bread-making. “It was a challenge and we had to go in boots and all and learn everything from the ground-up,” says O’Donoghue. “That first year was all-encompassing.”

“Amanda learned everything about the products and the production process and my focus was on sales and customer service,” says Price. “Thankfully we had – and still do have – very good artisan bakers who could carry on the traditional processes. Going in, the staff were our biggest asset. We started with 18, now we have 35.”

He says they initially didn’t make many changes. “For the first couple of years, we just improved things where we could and made a few tweaks.”

“One of the things that is different about us is that we are a bread bakery only,” says O’Donoghue. “We don’t make sweet stuff, we don’t make pies, we just bake bread. That is quite unique in New Zealand, and I think it is why we are good at what we do. Our focus is on bread, and making sure every loaf is the best it can be.

“With breadmaking, you might have the same ingredients and the same process every time, but then external factors can fluctuate, like the temperature, so you might have to adjust things from batch to batch to make sure it is perfect every time. There’s a science and an art to breadmaking – the science is the recipe and the art is the adjustments you make.”

It soon became clear that among their extensive range of breads, the multigrain sourdough was a standout performer. It is made using the original fermented sourdough starter that the previous owners began the business with over two decades ago.

That naturally cultivated living starter is the key to great sourdough, and the European Bakery owners take very seriously the responsibility of being the caretakers of the starter, which is possibly one of the oldest used on this scale in New Zealand.

The long fermentation process of each batch of dough, during which the gluten in the bread is broken down, is also a vital part of creating delicious loaves, says O’Donoghue. It can take from eight to 48 hours to make a loaf of sourdough, depending on the fermentation process. However, the important thing is knowing when the dough is just right to make the best loaf of bread.

“The time it takes is crucial when it comes to traditional European bread. That gives it its flavour, and it also means it’s not so hard on the gut – people say they feel really good after eating it. When you pick it up, it feels quite dense, but it’s not heavy like some dark European breads – it’s moist and flavoursome. It’s a very moreish loaf of bread to eat.”

As well as being easier on your digestive system, there are a whole range of other health benefits associated with sourdough, such as supporting gut health, helping to keep blood sugar stable and providing nutrients like calcium, potassium and magnesium, according to WebMD.

Packed with natural energy, this loaf is ideal fuel for Kiwi adventures like tramping, skiing, surfing, or simply exploring.

“Bread can be a good part of people’s diets as long as they choose well,” says O’Donoghue. “Carbs get a bad rap but they’re not all bad – there is a place for the right ones.”

European Bakery’s multigrain sourdough also includes sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, with soaked grains like rye, kibble and purple wheat. “There’s a lot of goodness in there,” says O’Donoghue.

A lot of people are discerning when it comes to their bread these days and being able to produce loaves that not only taste great but are healthy is hugely rewarding, says Price.

He says the ultimate compliments have come from European visitors to Queenstown who’ve sampled their bread.

“We’ve had them say to us, ‘This is as good, if not better, than what we get at home’. That’s so good to hear!”

Keen to fuel your adventures with artisan goodness? Subscribe now for European Bakery’s multigrain sourdough breadbox and get premium, adventure-ready fuel delivered right to your door.