Sunnylands Sourdough rises in Burpengary

What started as homemade sourdough baked in Palma Currie’s kitchen has quickly grown into one of Burpengary’s newest bakery success stories.

Located beside Hungry Jack’s in Burpengary, Sunnylands Sourdough Bakery has built a loyal following through word of mouth, social media and handcrafted artisan sourdough inspired by Palma’s Irish roots.

“One of my friends had just had a baby, so I dropped some bread off for their family,” Palma explains.

“They shared it through the Volume Beauty Bar social media pages and then people just started messaging asking if they could buy bread too.”

From there, demand quickly grew. Palma secured a food licence, began selling at the Burpengary Markets and steadily expanded the business from traditional sourdough loaves into a growing range of baked goods.

Local businesses also played a major role in helping Sunnylands grow during its early stages.

“Basil & Vine gave me my start making sourdough for their restaurant. Their support and belief in me gave me the confidence to leave my job and fully focus on building Sunnylands,” Palma says.

“BM Farm Fresh also helped us enormously by promoting and selling our bread through their market, which introduced us to so many customers.”

As the bakery outgrew its home setup, Palma and her husband took the leap into a permanent shopfront after spotting the vacant Burpengary space while driving past.

“We just looked at each other and said, ‘Ring up and see how much the lease is,’” Palma laughs.

Sunnylands officially opened just before Christmas before fully settling into the shop in January, with locals quickly embracing the new bakery.

“The response has honestly been incredible,” Palma says.

Originally from Ireland, Palma says the bakery also holds a strong connection to home.

“In my hometown in Ireland there’s a Sunnylands Bakery, so being able to honour such a special place in this way is something I’m really proud of,” she says.

That traditional approach remains central to the business, with each handcrafted artisan sourdough loaf taking around 24 hours to make using just flour, salt and water.

Sunnylands has also expanded into handmade sourdough pies and sausage rolls, with even the pastry made using the bakery’s sourdough mother, alongside toasties, coffee and fresh baked goods.

Palma says the people behind the counter have become just as important as the products themselves.

“Our employees, Zoe and Karen, both started as customers before coming out of retirement to work with us. They’ve become such an important part of Sunnylands and our little bakery family,” she says.

Palma says the support from the local community has been overwhelming from day one.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without the community,” she says.

Sunnylands Sourdough Bakery is located at Shop 2/163-165 Station Rd, Burpengary and is open Wednesday to Sunday.