By the end of Easter, some 20,000 glazed parcels of carefully prepared fruit, spice and dough will have been produced by the bakery team behind Adelaide Central Market stall Dough.

The bakery and patisserie anticipates a bumper Easter trading period, helping the business to bounce back from last year’s drop in sales following coronavirus restrictions coming into effect.

With Good Friday falling early this year on April 2, the Adelaide Central Markets are already coming alive with Easter shoppers.

Dough will sell its largest quantity of buns to date, with about 5000 expected to be snapped up on Easter Thursday and Saturday alone.

To meet demand, General manager of Bakery Production, Bonnie Maguire says her team will work around the clock.

“We will become almost a 24-hour production facility for the two or three days leading up to Easter,” Maguire says.

“Our bakers normally start at midnight, but for Easter, they’ll start at 9pm so that we can get the hot cross buns out in time. We’ll continue to make them through the day.”

“Just on Thursday and Saturday we’ll do about 5000 buns.”

Specialising in French patisserie treats and sourdough, Dough is located at stall 45, with a production bakery located nearby at Market Street Café.

Maguire says the appeal of Dough’s hot cross buns comes down to the quality ingredients and responsible use of sugar.

“The most unique thing about our hot cross buns is the amount of fruit, and the variety of fruit, that we add,” she says.

“We tend not to add a huge amount of sugar to our products; we like the fruit and spices to be the heroes, rather than being masked by sweetness.”

The Dough and Market Street Cafe bakery team in full production for Easter 2021. Photo: Ben Kelly.

Dough is owned by Valerie Henbest and Peter Heaney, who also own Market trader Say Cheese.

The business’ growth has been on the back of an increased customer appetite for patisserie and croissant-based items, as well as sourdough bread.

While many large-scale bakeries may tend towards automation and the use of machinery, it’s all hands-on at Dough, where buns are cut, measured and rolled by hand. They are also made in small batches to ensure quality control.

Maguire says with fewer people pursuing careers as bakers these days, Dough hopes to inspire new generations to take up the art.

“We hope that by taking on work experience students it will encourage them to produce their own products. It really is a dying art,” she says.

“It’s about making them feel inspired to be more hands-on in the production process.”

Dough is not the only trader expecting a surge in demand this Easter. Angelakis Bros is anticipating to sell 2.5 tonnes of SA prawns and 550 dozen oysters.

Adelaide Central Market General Manager Jodie Kannane encourages consumers to support local businesses this Easter, following the challenging past 12 months.

“House-made hot cross buns from Dough and Skala Artisan Bakers, locally made sugar eggs and marshmallow rabbits from The Old Lolly Shop, giant chocolate bunnies from The Adelaide Nut, and treats from around the world including European chocolates and Colombia are just some of the Easter delights available now,” says Kannane.

The Adelaide Central Market is open in the week leading up to Easter, including extended trading until 7pm on Thursday, April 1, and from 7am to 3pm on Saturday, April 3. It will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday.