Colton Bakehouse

Colton Bakehouse is the sort of roadside stop one customer has made a detour to visit. It's a small, rustic bakery in Colton, South Australia, and it runs on a self-serve setup: you help yourself, everything is labelled, and the money goes in a tin. Locals will tell you it's simple, a little rough around the edges, and exactly why it's loved.

The bread comes out of a wood-fired oven, and you can taste it. People talk about the hi top loaf more than anything, a white one that has sent more than one visitor straight back to childhood and the baker their mum used to buy from. There's a multigrain loaf too, and we hear the brown stays fresher for longer. The rolls get plenty of praise, and so do the sticky fruit buns, sold in a pack of four. One local called them the freshest fruit buns they'd ever had, and another happily made a two-hour round trip for them. The buns and crusty loaf are fresh from the oven, and the usual advice is to eat them the same day, when they're at their best.

The staff earn a good word as well. The man behind it is described as friendly and thoughtful, the kind who'll have a chat and make sure first-timers know how the self-serve setup works. Another visitor mentioned the lovely lady doing the baking, so it feels like a small, personal operation.

A few practical points. It's cash only, and it's the one thing people stress, so bring notes and coins before you arrive. The sign is easy to miss, so slow down and keep an eye out. There's a free car park. Stock goes as the day goes on, and one visitor found the fruit buns sold out, so earlier in the day is the safer bet. It's wheat-based bread only, with no gluten-free options. Prices are a little above the chain stores, which most people see as fair for handcrafted bread made nearby.

If you're driving between Streaky Bay and Coffin Bays, this is a bakery in Colton worth pulling over for.