Clare Adcock's Top 10 Queensland Country Bakeries

When Margaretha Prendergast's husband had a major stroke and passed away, she decided that she wanted to get out of town and take some time away for herself.

"I wanted to get away for a while, so I took off to France," Ms Prendergast said.

"I landed in a little village and started working for the baker, and I did that for three-and-a-half months. When I came back, my son Joe built this bakery for me."

"My husband had always thought we needed a bakery in Goomeri."

While in France, Ms Prendergast learnt to bake baguettes, croissants, and pain au chocolat, before transferring her skills to a range of different danishes and pastries when she opened her own bakery in 2016.

Chef and business owner Joe Prendergast said the inclusion of Australian flavours, such as pies, sausage rolls and bounty tarts, has ensured the bakery's popularity with both locals and travellers.

"We discussed that just doing the French style wouldn't totally work here, so we have a bit of an Australian cross in there now, with the pies and sausage rolls," Mr Prendergast said.

"It's a bit of a French fusion bakery and it's just gone crazy."

"The beauty of the fusion is you keep everybody happy, so you can have somebody who really loves French pastries and somebody who wants a pie or sausage roll and they can have both."

The bakery has proven to be a huge success with customers often driving from other regions just to buy some of their tasty treats, or travellers detouring via the bakery to keep them fed on their road trips.

The Prendergast family run two other business's in the South Burnett area, Dusty Hill Winery at Moffatdale and Joe's Grand Hotel in Goomeri.

This bakery needs no introduction, having won many accolades over the years for its unique and unbelievably tasty selection of pies.

Some of the exclusive pie flavours include the "Big Barra Pie," loaded with barramundi fillets and prawns in a creamy, lemon and dill sauce, and the "Bundy Bison Pie", which uses locally raised, slow-cooked bison meat in a Bundaberg rum infused sauce.

Possibly the most noteworthy pie being served up at Blackbutt is the "Big Mack Pie", two all-beef patties, cheese, onions, pickles and special sauce encased in sesame seed pastry.

They say a bakery is the heart of any town, and Roma is the gateway to the outback, so what do you get when you combine home-cooked food with outback hospitality? Bakearoma of course!

This bakery is well-known by locals and travellers alike, boasting a large selection of hot food and sweet treats, as well as the best freshly-baked bread along the Warrego highway.

The town of Babinda in Far North Queensland is typically known for being Australia's wettest town, recording an average yearly rainfall of over 4,279.4 millimetres.

However, it is also famous for another reason: serving up the best cream buns in the Far North. Located 60 kilometers south of Cairns, Babinda is the perfect spot for a rest stop on your next road trip to tropical Queensland.

The team at Kenilworth Country Bakery like to do things a little differently, and that's exactly what has people travelling from all over Queensland to get to their baked goods.

Home of Australia's first "coffee in a doughnut", these bakers and baristas know how to serve up a unique treat.

If you're heading to Kenilworth make sure to leave home on an empty stomach and have a crack at the 1kg doughnut or 1kg sausage roll challenge if you're game!

The bakery is also opening a second outlet at Mooloolaba in early 2022.

If you're headed on a trip through outback Queensland this year or plan to run the Simpson Desert ultra-marathon in June, you'll be glad to know that there is a tasty pie at the end of the track.

One of Australia's much-loved outback towns, Birdsville is home to some of the most renowned baked goods in the country.

Arguably their most popular products are the infamous curry camel pie, with chunky, curried camel meat encased in a unique, triangular pie crust, or the Aussie roo pie.

If your taste buds aren't overly experimental, you can grab one of their more traditional pies or something sweet for the road.

Arthur Clive's Bakery is a true family business, with a rich history that spans back over a century.

The bakery business was started by Herbert Pennell, a returned ANZAC servicemen, before being passed on to his son, Arthur Clive, who also fought in World War II. Since then, Arthur's son and grandsons have taken on the business, which now has a second store in Boonah.

The tradition of "baking the daily bread" has continued throughout the decades, but bread isn't their only specialty dish; the award-winning pies and sausage rolls, caramel slice, and apple turnovers with fresh cream should also be on the top of your list.

Most bakeries have gluten galore, but Artizan Gluten Free Bakery in Rockhampton are going the extra mile to help out those with allergies and intolerances.

This bakery prides themselves on creating 100% gluten free breads, pies, pastries and cakes, which they sell locally and to stockists around the state.

If gluten isn't your friend, make sure to stop at Artizan on your next trip through Rocky and stock up on goodies for your freezer.

Whether you're after breakfast, lunch or dinner, Satisfaction is the place to go when you're in need of a good feed.

Dishing up all your bakery classics, a standout eggs benny, gourmet burgers and handmade pizzas, you wont go hungry when you're in Barcaldine.

With online ordering and delivery available, this joint is the flashest bakery in OUtback Queensland.

This family owned bakery is well-known in central Queensland, specialising in house-baked sweet treats and a cracking lunch menu.

The apple Barvairian cheesecake slice is a limited edition favourite with locals, so you might just be lucky enough to pop in when it's available.

The friendly staff also serve up a lovely cup of Merlo coffee to go with your sweet treat.

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