Remember when you used to drive through a country town and your first stop would be at the bakery? Even before stepping out of the car you could smell the warm, fresh bread being pulled from the wood-fired oven.

Sadly the warm heart of most bakeries in rural and regional towns has been replaced by industrialisation, but there’s one woman determined to turn back time, albeit with a luxurious and gourmet twist.

Enter delicious. contributor and Produce Awards national judge Alla Wolf-Tasker AM, the woman behind the Lake House in Daylesford, who is set to revive the heart and soul of the charming country town with her new venture – The Bake House at Dairy Flat Farm.

For the past 18 months, Wolf-Tasker and her team have been toiling away on her 38-acre regenerative farm set amongst the lush, rolling hills in the hamlet of Musk. Dairy Flat Farm, just seven kilometres from Daylesford, features a restored vineyard, an extensive olive grove, five acres of newly established vegetable gardens, three hoop houses, a glasshouse and 350 heritage fruit trees.

One of the most exciting features of the farm to come is the bakehouse, which has been created within an existing semi-underground cellar space accessed via a tunnel beneath the Lodge (more on that later). The idea for the bakehouse was hatched, as all ideas should be, over good food and wine with guru Australian baker Michael James, formerly of Melbourne’s renowned Tivoli Road Bakery.

All baking for the Lake House will come from Dairy Flat as well as for the Wolf-Tasker’s more casual country café Wombat Hill House.

Dairy Flat Farm will also offer accommodation in the ‘Lodge’; six luxurious farmhouse suites featuring custom-made furniture, cabinetry and upholstery. It’s a chance to go back to the ‘good old days’ and immerse yourself in nature – think bike rides around pretty country lanes, soaking in a hot tub under the stars and learning how to garden, bake or keep bees.

Perhaps a trip to the country is in order?

See here for a sneak peek of the recipes from Dairy Flat Farm or here for recipes by Michael James. 

Dairy Flat Farm
238 Dairy Flat Rd, Musk VIC 
dairyflatfarmdaylesford.com.au