A new chapter has begun for the team behind North Melbourne’s Baguette Studios, with the launch of the Library Bakery.

At the helm of the cosy bakery are Aileen Seo, Paul Kwon, and Jiho Sur, the innovative trio also celebrated for their acclaimed boulangerie in North Melbourne.

Echoing the success of their first venture, known for its crisp French-style baguettes and Korean-inspired pastries like the croissant-esque kouign-amann sprinkled with pine nuts and yakwa (sweet Korean honey treats made of puffed grain), the Library Bakery similarly embraces the culinary artistry of France and the comforting flavours of Seo’s childhood in Korea.

Seo, with her pastry expertise from years cooking at Maha, Kwon, who brings his experience from the Press Club, and Sur, with a background in the pastry kitchens of luxury hotels like the Park Hyatt and Crown Melbourne, blend their skills to create something truly special.

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The establishment’s name signifies more than just a moniker; it’s a tribute to Seo’s vision of crafting a diverse assortment of breads, as well as a catalogue of memories.

“I think every person is kind of like a book, they have a different story. Everyone has a book of memories. So when the customers and the team members work together and interact it’s similar to bringing chapters together. We want to combine the chapters and become a library of memories,” Seo tells delicious.

The selection is impressive, featuring everything from pretzel baguettes and pumpkin scones to salted chocolate cookies. The showstopper, however, is “the book,” a pastry that pays homage to the peanut butter bread of Seo’s childhood memories. 

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This pastry, inspired by South Korean flavours, is shaped like an open book, its pages crafted from layers of laminated dough filled with a rich mix of house-made peanut butter, peanut cream, crushed peanut praline, and salted caramel.

It’s a playful childlike chapter from Seo’s life, which will change flavours with the seasons.

Another pastry worth ogling at is the verdant green pistachio flan, with its nest of butter flaky pastry, pistachio custard, pistachio ganache, crushed pistachios and pistachio praline. It’s a full-on homage to Seo’s favourite flavour and the chef reckons it’s on the menu for good. For something a bit different though, the Danishes will change every other week depending on what’s in season and in its prime.

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“With the Danishes, we just did the blueberry danish. And then next week I’m going to do strawberry and mint. To me, Australian mint is so iconic and delicious. I really like to use a lot of local and seasonal ingredients.” 

For the bakery’s design, the visionaries joined forces with branding expert Henry Ro and furniture craftsman Brandon Harrison, cultivating an atmosphere that is simultaneously minimalist and cosy. The interior is adorned with stools in shades of pastel purple and turquoise, set against white walls and modern flooring, all designed to spotlight the bakery’s main attraction: the incredible pastries on display.

The Library Bakery is open now at 457 Lygon Street, Brunswick East. For more details head to The Library Bakery website.

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