Flaveur Breads is a Mount Maunganui artisan bakery passionate about delicious, healthy sourdough, baked daily by hand using artisan methods. The story began on a farm in Te Puke in 2009; demand for the bread soon called for a proper bakery, and today Flaveur is among New Zealand's favourite slow-fermented, artisan sourdough bakeries, using the finest organic and non-organic ingredients and, wherever possible, local products.
At the Totara St bakery café you can watch the breads being made, meet the bakers and pick from a wide handmade range — sourdough, multigrain, raisin, rye and spelt, gluten free bread, sourdough pizza bases and traditional soft German Bretzels — alongside Allpress coffee, fresh sandwiches and salads made daily with locally sourced produce, and tarts or croissants to take to the nearby beach.
Every dough is slowly and naturally fermented for between 8 and 24 hours on an organic leaven matured over 12 years and refreshed daily, with no chemicals, additives or artificial flavours — bread with probiotics, low in sugar and high in minerals and fibre. You'll also find Flaveur at the Tauranga Farmers' Market on Saturdays, at the 2nd Ave café in Tauranga, via online delivery across the North Island, and at stockists around the country.
Flaveur Breads started life on a farm in Te Puke in 2009, baking loaves for anyone lucky enough to be nearby. Demand grew quickly, and it wasn't long before a dedicated bakery was set up in Mount Maunganui. Today, Flaveur is among New Zealand's favourite slow-fermented, artisan sourdough bakeries — and it all still happens by hand, every day, at the bakery café at 31 Totara St.
At the heart of every loaf is an organic sourdough leaven that has matured over more than twelve years and is refreshed daily. Each dough is fermented slowly and naturally for between 8 and 24 hours, using traditional methods and the bakery's own recipes. The slow-rise breads contain no chemicals, additives or artificial flavours — most are built on that organic leaven, with organic ingredients used wherever possible.
The point of all that patience is bread that is genuinely good for you. Flaveur's loaves contain probiotics, are low in sugar and are high in minerals and fibre. Slow fermentation lowers the glycemic index, raises folate levels, makes the gluten more digestible and unlocks the nutrition within wholegrains, cereals, seeds and olive oil. Many customers find the bread easy to digest, and it keeps beautifully — freezing works a treat too. The team is honest about one thing: they use organic ingredients wherever they can, but do not claim to be certified organic.
The range runs from classic to creative. Black Gold is the showstopper — a sourdough round made with stout from the local Mt Brewing Company and activated charcoal, mild in taste and striking on the table. The Organic Multigrain Gold, known as OMG, is in the bakers' own words bread how it is meant to be: literally organic flour, water and salt, built on the famous Maunganui Gold flour.
Other regulars include the Caramelized Onion and Olive Sourdough, full of flavour and created for summer gatherings and BBQ season, and the Double Raisin Organic Loaf, a naturally sweet fruit loaf with no added sugar that freezes well. On Saturdays, look for the Sunflower Gold — a seeded organic loaf baked specially for market shoppers and available on Saturdays only. Beyond the loaves there are twin packs of sourdough pizza bases with no preservatives or sugar, traditional soft German Bretzels kicking off an exciting new range, and gluten free, rye and spelt breads in the complete daily line-up.
The Totara St site is a working bakery and café in one. You can watch the breads being made, meet the bakers and find the loaf that best suits you, then order a fresh Allpress coffee — perhaps with a tart or croissant on the side — and take it to a nearby beach to relax. Sandwiches and salads are made fresh daily with locally sourced produce, so it works just as well for lunch as for a bread run.
If Totara St is out of the way, Flaveur has a second café at 94 2nd Ave in downtown Tauranga, open Monday to Friday — perfect for a lunch and coffee stop, or to grab a loaf on the go. Long-standing stallholders at the Tauranga Farmers' Market, they set up alongside local growers at Tauranga Primary School on Saturday mornings.
The Bread Truck takes freshly baked artisan bread to campgrounds, retirement villages and streets around the region — because the team believes healthy food should be accessible to everyone, young and elderly alike. Online orders deliver anywhere in the North Island, or you can pick up from the bakery, and stockists from Omanu Dairy to organics stores in Wellington, Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga and Hastings carry the loaves too.
Community is a big part of the story. Flaveur offers discounts to local sports clubs such as Mount Joggers, Mount Yoga, Drill Fitness and Omanu Surf Lifesaving Club, and is happy to sponsor local events.
The bakery café at 31 Totara St, Mount Maunganui is open Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 2pm. Ordering online? Wait for confirmation that your order is ready, then pick up before 2pm — or prepay and collect any time before 3pm. Questions can go to [email protected] or 07 5757161.