04/09/2026
New to Box Divvy 📣📢
Sonoma Bakery is one of Australia’s celebrated sourdough bakeries, founded by Andrew Connole, alongside his brother Christian and their late father Kerry.
As a young boy, Kerry Connole spent time watching a local baker work behind his grandparents general store in Bellata, a tiny outback town in north-western New South Wales.
Decades later, despite having zero professional baking experience, Kerry was driven by nostalgia to lease and restore that same derelict, 100-year-old wood-fired oven.
While setting up the bakery, Andrew Connole travelled to the United States. He visited Northern California, exploring the artisan sourdough movement in San Francisco and learning from legendary oven maker Alan Scott in the Sonoma region.
Andrew returned to Australia with a small batch of authentic sourdough starter and named the fledgling business "Sonoma" in honour of the place that inspired him.
The family baked their first official commercial loaves in Bellata. Because the remote town had a population of only 500, Andrew made the gruelling, 1080-kilometer round trips to transport the fresh bread from the outback to sell at Sydney's farmers markets.
Demand exploded. Sonoma eventually shifted its core operations to Sydney, opening a major production headquarters in Alexandria and establishing popular retail cafes across New South Wales and Canberra.
They became a signature supplier for top-tier Sydney restaurants (like Quay and Tetsuya's) and a staple at the Carriageworks Farmers Market.
A limited range of sourdoughs and mueslis is now available from Box Divvy 👍😁
Sonoma - Artisan Sourdough Bakers
