Readers decide: Best meat pies in Moreton Bay Region

We asked Moreton Daily readers where to find the best meat pie in the Moreton Bay Region. They were more than happy to share their favourites, but one stood out.

More than 400 people responded to the callout on Facebook, nominating more than 50 bakeries and pie shops across the Moreton Bay Region.

The most popular, by a long way, was The Dayboro Bakery with 85 votes. Its nearest rival was Burpengary’s Toasted Pig (54) and Phelan’s Bakery at Narangba (41).

The Dayboro Bakery owners Amanda MacDonald and Steve Buckland are pretty chuffed and say traditional recipes and methods make their pies special.

“If you come in during the day, you’ll hear banging out the back. It’s the bakers cutting out the pastry,” Amanda says.

“All our pastry is rolled by hand, not from a machine. It’s unbelievably fresh. Everything is fresh and we have a high turnover, so we’re never holding onto stock.

“It’s the traditional aspect of everything we do. We have very experienced bakers who have high expectations of what the product should be when it comes out.”

Customers love their pies

“Pies are our main business. We sell thousands each week,” Amanda says.

There are seven bakers, five post-production staff and 17 retails staff serving 3000-4000 people every week.

Amanda and Steve took on the bakery three years ago and have 15-20 pies on any given day, including vegetarian options.

The most popular are cheese and bacon, and their chunky lamb and rosemary varieties. But don’t underestimate the popularity of plain beef pies – chunky or mince.

And it seems demand is largely influenced by the weather, with hot food popular and chunky pies sought after on cool, overcast or rainy days, and lighter sandwiches, rolls and wraps big sellers on fine, clear days.

It’s made Amanda and her team, keen weather watchers as they try to predict what will be demand.

“But a good plain meat pie is always a firm favourite,” she says.

Community hub

The Dayboro Bakery might be well known for its baked goods, but Amanda says it’s much more than that.

“It’s a bit of an institution,” she says.

The shop is a community hub – in good times and bad – and Amanda knows she has her customers to thank for winning the Facebook poll.

“Someone tagged me in it. I felt so honoured that so many people had put our bakery forward,” she says.

The Dayboro township has had a bakery since the 1800s, run by many different people and in a few locations.

Amanda and Steve’s bakery has been in its present location since the 1990s.

Top 5 spots for a meat pie in the region

The Dayboro Bakery – 85

The Toasted Pig, Burpengary - 54

Phelan’s Bakery, Narangba – 41

Beachmere Bakery - 15

Phelan’s Bakery, Morayfield – 11

*More than 50 bakeries were nominated by pie lovers across the Moreton Bay Region

The secret to a great meat pie?

There’s no chance Amanda’s going to give this away, instead suggesting those keen to figure it out should pop in and try one.

The Dayboro Bakery is at 32 Williams St, Dayboro. It’s open from 5am-5pm, seven days a week.

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