Victoria Cosford
‘It’s so hard to find good gluten-free stuff’, says a woman buying a muffin from the Breadicine stall. She’s merely one of a never-ending cast of characters drawn in firstly by the fabulous display – wooden shelves, bamboo and cane baskets piled with loaves, a tray of almond-topped brownies and another of breadsticks and biscuits, long bread boards of rolls – and secondly, according to baker and stallholder Nic, word of mouth.
The Murwillumbah-based business is only four years old, the brain-child of Nadia Martin, self-described ‘Breadicine Woman… born in New Zealand to a rockstar bass player from Mi-Sex and a bondage seamstress for Madam Lash.’ In 2016 she moved from Sydney to Murwillumbah following a 30-year career in the baking industry, ‘a mess of allergies and illness.’ Nadia tells me that she began experimenting with breads – ‘creating bread quite literally as my own medicine’ – and when the response to her products at a local market proved positive she threw herself into developing and improving the range. ‘I knew I wanted to redefine the perception of gluten-free bread,’ she tells me, ‘and create a bread experience that was off the charts in wholesomeness, nutrition, and taste.’ Her priority is nutrition and digestive health ‘through ingredient selection and slow baking processes’, baked by a team of seven, and selling at four markets.
The range is impressive – aside from the various sourdoughs like active charcoal sesame, sprouted mung bean, paleo low-carb nut bread, there’s banana bread and muffins, breadsticks and rolls and biscuits and one of her originals, pumpkin gingerbread. ‘I think I made over 400 sourdoughs before finally getting the flour blend, starter, shaping and baking processes right’, she says.
The response has been fantastic, with many new products in the pipeline, should Nadia ever have a minute to breathe. ‘Ultimately’, she says, ‘I want to hold workshops and start teaching people how to make their own breads.’
Breadicine is at New Brighton Farmers Market every Tuesday from 8am to 11am and at Mulllumbimby Farmers Market every Friday from 7am to 11am.
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