There are so many reasons to linger a little longer on the Sunshine Coast. The one-kilogram doughnut at Kenilworth Bakery is but one of them. Keen to get a hole in one? Brave souls who manage to stuff their pie-hole with the entire 1kg doughnut will earn their money back and a shout-out on the Wall of Fame. Tackling the challenge of eating the Long John doughnut filled with cream and your choice of Nutella, jam or custard is one of the best reasons to stop while road-tripping along Australia’s east coast. Preorder the sugary behemoth ahead of time. kenilworthbakery.com

The surge in demand for excellent artisan sourdough in regional Australia reflects a broader trend towards quality, authenticity, provenance and community. Noosa has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to ground-breaking artisans and innovators. Tanglewood Bakery relies on a slow fermentation process to get the bread just so and they have a range of bread and pastries to choose from such as the chocolate croissants and signature sourdough Find Tanglewood hidden within Belmondos Organic Market, a sleek set-up in Noosa’s industrial precinct that includes Clandestino Coffee, ethically farmed Eumundi Meats and Belmondo Wholefoods. tanglewood.com.au

Goomeri, on the Burnett Highway about 265km northwest of Brisbane, is home to Australia’s only Pumpkin Festival. Travel to this speck of a town on either side of the annual May festival and you’ll still find a lot to graze on. The Goomeri Bakery is your go-to in the town for everything from a brekkie pie to a Danish pastry filled with apricots and lacquered in a sweet glaze. There are also caramel creme tarts and custard-filled croissants and scrolls. Our pick? The Knackwurst sausage roll with Louisiana BBQ sauce and cheese. We’re fairly certain you can’t open a bakery in regional Queensland without selling pies and the lamb and rosemary is epic. thegoomeribakery.com.au

Haul your carcass up Castle Hill in the cool of the morning so you can reward yourself with a little treat from Baker D North, in Garbutt. This bakery is one of the best bakeries in regional Queensland for its dedication to the art of crafting quality sourdough breads and pastries. Artisan baker Dimitri Pittion opened Baker D North after graduating from the National Institute of Boulangerie Patisserie in France in 2010. Dimitri makes his sourdough from scratch using long-fermentation techniques he learned in France. Head here for croissants that don’t contain any additives or preservatives. Bonus: there’s also a doughnut gallery with a range of decadent toppings. bakerdnorth.com.au

Don your favourite Will & Bear jaunty hat so you look the part when you saunter into Rick’s Artisan Pies & Sourdough. The Sunshine Coast is blessed with great bakeries. And in-the-know locals in Noosavilla turn most of them into a wild success due to the demand for quality bread in these parts. Of course, Rick’s is filled with standout sourdough. But it’s the pies, pulled piping hot out of the oven, that are also a good bet. The Mooloolaba prawn and snapper pie and steak, bacon and cheese are not to be missed. You will feel slightly better about the fact you’re loading up on carbs because you know the ingredients were sourced locally. piesandsourdough.com.au

Follow the trails of crumbs left by locals to get to Tins & Trays in Gatton while road-tripping between Brisbane and Cairns. This is one of the best bakeries in regional Queensland for its dedication to doling out croissants with a decidedly Australian accent such as the vegemite and Swiss cheese croissant, served freshly toasted. While your purist mate who’s just returned from Paris probs won’t get his head around the ‘garlic bread’ croissant, you could steer him toward a signature sausage roll or meat pie topped with butter puff pastry instead. Tins & Trays is also the go-to in Gatton – in the heart of rural Queensland’s Lockyer Valley – for its support for local farmers. Expect pretty-as-a-picture cakes and loaded cookies, too. tins-and-trays.com.au

There was a time when gluten-free anything didn’t really land. But those times have changed with a lot of people who aren’t GI gravitating towards gluten-free bread and pastries. The gluten-free treats coming out of this artisan bakery in Rockhampton are legendary. Exceeding expectations are the classic vanilla slices, chewy bagels and buttery pastries. Founded in 2019 by Simone Lawrie and her business partner Keely, the pair are also known for their made-from-scratch sausage rolls, which are packed with flavour. artizanglutenfreebakery.com.au

If you’re a Toowoomba local returning home they reckon you’re returning to the Woomb. It’s one of many endearing nicknames for the regional Queensland city, which is also affectionately known as T-bar. Drive through during lunch hour and you can pair a lamington eclair or cruffin with a coffee. Resistance is futile. Order one of everything. But turn your Snap(chat) map off first, so the mates you’re in convoy with up to Cairns don’t breeze in. They’ll want a bite of everything and it’s too good to share. The Baker’s Duck is one of the best bakeries in Queensland for buttery pastries such as kouign-amann, which are next level excellent and well worthy of an inclusion on their own. thebakersduck.com.au

Drive through the suburb of Bungalow in Cairns and might blink and miss Japan Pan. The Japanese-inspired artisan bakery is owned and operated by Noboru and Rie Furukawa, who trained as head pastry chef under renowned New Zealand chefs Vaughan Mabee and Josh Emmett. Rie’s muse is the humble ‘sando’, the go-to snack in Japan that is commonplace at combinis (convenience stores). And here, at Japan Pan, the chef showcases a slew of Japanese-influenced sandos such as the curry pan, shio pan (salted bun) and deep-fried sausage bun. But it’s the fruit sando that is the signature, pillowy rectangles of shokupan filled with tropical fruits such as kiwi and mango and whipped cream. The cross-section is giving Mango Weis bar and we’re here for it. instagram.com/japanpan.bakery

The menu at Pocket Storehouse revolves around organic sourdough. But it’s the seven Monash-certified Low FODMAP products that put this pocket-sized baker on our radar. Open just two days a week, the bakery is regarded as one of the best regional bakeries in Queensland for its everyday loaves of sourdough with lots of fluffy air pockets and that signature sourdough tang. The Rueben toastie bookended by sourdough is also a decadent dream worthy of a detour. Give this Bundaberg institution a shout-out on Instagram for instant cred with the members of your bread cult.thepocket.com.au