Tried and Tasted:
A week of cooking from The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook
What happened when the recipes of some of Melbourne's best cafes and restaurants were put to the test in a real home kitchen.
The four recipes tested from The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook.
Cooking from a cookbook is one thing, cooking through it is another.
Each week in Tried and Tasted, I cook from a single cookbook, not just one recipe, but a handful, tested over a week in real-life conditions. No pressure, no ratings, just honest reflections on what I cooked, how it went, and whether I’d make it again.
This week, I turned to The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook, a showcase of the city’s café culture and restaurant favourites. The book promises to bring Melbourne’s distinct dining scene into the home kitchen, but could it translate the atmosphere of a laneway brunch or a late-night spot into weeknight cooking?
Here’s what happened.
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5 & Dime's Bagels and Schmears - The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook pg. 63
Bagels and Schmears by 5 & Dime
In the Kitchen
This recipe needed a head start the day before, since the dough has an overnight rest in the fridge. It came together quickly in my stand mixer, although even for a KitchenAid it was working hard because bagel dough is dense and demanding.
To test if it was ready, I used the windowpane method, stretching a piece between my fingers until it turned thin and see-through before tearing. Once the gluten was built up, the dough went into a greased bowl, covered, and left in a warm spot until doubled.
Shaping was where the fun began. The recipe offers two options: rolling ropes of dough and joining the ends, which I found a little too tricky, or the simpler method of poking a hole in the centre of a dough ball and stretching it out. I quickly declared myself Team Stretch. Eight bagels later, they were lined up on a tray, spritzed with oil, covered in cling wrap, and tucked into the fridge for an overnight prove.
The next morning, it was time for the final steps: boiling, topping, and baking. After a quick dip in simmering water with malt powder, the bagels got their finishing touches. I sprinkled half with sesame seeds and half with flaky salt before baking until golden, rotating the tray halfway through for even colour.
Meanwhile, I tackled the bacon jam. Bacon, onion, syrup, and more simmered down until they transformed into a dark, sticky, jammy delight. Once cooled, I folded it through cream cheese, creating a smoky, salty-sweet spread that was so addictive I found myself sneaking spoonfuls straight from the bowl.
The bagels emerged golden and inviting. Once cooled, I split them open, slathered on the bacon jam schmear, and tucked in.
The Verdict
The bagels themselves were chewy and golden, as good as any I have bought. A plain bagel will never be a mind-blower, but this recipe delivered exactly what it promised: solid, reliable results.
The bacon jam, though, was the star of the show. Sweet, salty, smoky, and creamy when mixed with cheese, it turned the humble bagel into something special. I could happily eat it by the spoonful, and in fact, I did.
Would I Make It Again?
Yes. The bagel recipe is a keeper, though next time I would opt for the standard, larger size. The bacon cream cheese is absolutely a repeat. It is not only fantastic on bagels but also works beautifully with crackers, wine, and cheese.
Worth Knowing
5 & Dime’s bagels usually weigh in at the standard 115 g, but following this recipe exactly, I ended up with about 580 g of dough total. The recipe says to make 6 or 8 bagels, which is 8 smaller bagels at 72.5 g each, or 6 bagels at roughly 97 g. To make the true bakery size, you would only get 5 bagels, so adjust according to your preference.
My smaller bagels took on a little more colour than expected. They were not burnt and still tasted fine, but next time I would shorten the bake time by a minute or two.
The bacon jam recipe yields far more than you will need for one batch of bagels. Plan on leftovers, or scale it down. Stored in the fridge, the schmear lasts around 3 to 5 days.
Bagels are best fresh. By day two they start to feel stale, so freezing is your friend.
Rockwell and Sons' Home-Style Fried Chicken - The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook pg. 135
Home-Style Fried Chicken by Rockwell and Sons
In the Kitchen
This recipe starts with a whole chicken that needs to be carved into eight pieces. If you haven’t done it before it sounds intimidating, but it’s easier than you think. I separated out the wings, thighs, breasts, and drumsticks, choosing to remove the bones from the breasts for personal preference. The backbone and wing tips went into the freezer for stock, and I set the wings aside for another meal. Six large pieces of chicken already felt like plenty for one person.
Next came the brine, designed to make the chicken juicier, more tender, and more flavoursome. Salt, herbs, spices, aromatics, and water were quickly brought to the boil, then left to sit for 10 minutes before poured into a bowl of ice. Once the ice had melted, I strained the brine and poured it over the chicken pieces arranged snugly in a tray, and left it in the fridge for two hours.
When the timer was up, the chicken was drained and left to stand, before being covered with a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce. It was then left to soak up even more flavour for another 30 minutes.
The seasoned flour was simple: just flour whisked with plenty of herbs and spices.
Then came the sticky part. Each piece of chicken was dipped in buttermilk, dredged through flour, back to buttermilk, then into flour again for a final coat.
I fried the chicken in two batches, keeping the first warm in the oven while the second cooked. Everything looked and smelled incredible by this point. Golden, crisp, and perfectly seasoned, I served the chicken with hot chips and sauce. Pure comfort food perfection.
The Verdict
I’ve always wanted to make authentic American-style fried chicken at home, but never found a recipe that truly delivered. Until now. This chicken rivalled the best I’ve had in restaurants, yet came together easily in my own kitchen at a fraction of the price.
Would I Make It Again?
Absolutely. This is a recipe I’ll bring out when I want to impress friends or family at a casual dinner. It’s the kind of dish that guarantees a reaction when you bring it to the table.
Worth Knowing
This is a really affordable meal. Buying a whole chicken stretches your budget, and most of the batter ingredients are pantry staples.
The brine makes the chicken quite salty. Not overpowering, more like movie-theatre popcorn. A cold beer or soft drink pairs perfectly.
No buttermilk? My cheat’s buttermilk recipe works just as well. I let the milk sit a little longer than usual so it thickened nicely for coating.
The recipe didn’t make quite enough seasoned flour for me, even though I only made six pieces instead of eight. Next time I’ll double it. Any leftovers will keep well in an airtight container and trust me, you’ll use it again.
Surprisingly, the chicken is just as good cold the next day. I never usually like cold fried chicken, but I found myself happily eating the leftovers straight from the fridge. Divine.
Kaprica's Gnocchi Sorrentina - The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook pg. 168
Gnocchi Sorrentina by Kaprica
In the Kitchen
I know this belongs in “The Verdict,” but I can’t help myself. This is hands down the best gnocchi I have ever had. Restaurants, cafés, recipes at home, nothing comes close.
The ingredient list is one of the shortest in the book, but do not be fooled. This recipe still asks for a bit of hands-on work.
It starts with the gnocchi. Potatoes are boiled in salted water until the skins split, while a simple sugo comes together on the stove. Olive oil, aromatics, and tinned tomatoes simmer for half an hour, filling the kitchen with a smell far more complex than three ingredients should ever manage. A sprinkle of sea salt at the end, then it is poured into a baking dish to wait for its finishing touches.
Back to the gnocchi. The potatoes need peeling while still hot. It is not my favourite job as it is fiddly and usually leaves me with burned fingers. Peeled and riced, they are mixed with egg yolks, flour, and seasoning, then gently brought together by hand into a smooth dough.
The dough is rolled into logs, sliced, and tossed through a sieve to shake off excess flour before being boiled in batches. The gnocchi are delicate, so it takes care to get them into the water without losing shape. Once cooked, they are added straight into the sugo, stirred through, topped generously with parmesan and torn buffalo mozzarella, then baked until bubbling and golden.
I served mine simply in bowls, finished with fresh basil leaves.
The Verdict
If you skimmed the top, let me say it again. This dish is fantastic. The cheese may look like too much, but it melts into an indulgent, gooey topping, with molten bites of mozzarella that feel like little pockets of heaven. The sugo is deeply flavoured despite its simplicity, and the gnocchi themselves are everything you want them to be. Pillowy soft yet with just enough chew, and crucially not floury at all. For this recipe alone the book is worth buying.
Would I Make It Again?
Absolutely, though his is definitely not an everyday meal. With the cheese and pasta it comes in at around 950 calories a serving. For a special occasion or when I want to impress, it is unbeatable.
Worth Knowing
Be cautious when tossing gnocchi in a sieve to shake off flour. My first attempt ended in disaster, with all the pieces clumping into one sticky mass that had to be re-rolled and re-cut. Do it in small batches to avoid the same fate.
This dish reheats beautifully. I covered the baking dish with cling wrap and microwaved portions as needed. A couple of minutes and it was as good as fresh.
Cobb Lane's Jam and Custard Doughnuts - The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook pg. 231
Jam and Custard Doughnuts by Cobb Lane
In the Kitchen
After the doughnuts I made from Simply Vegan Baking the other week, I could not scroll past these jam and custard filled beauties from Cobb Lane.
The dough begins simply, with wet and dry ingredients mixed separately, then whisked together in my stand mixer until the dough came away from the sides of the bowl. The butter is added in pieces, but I found this part fiddly. The dough kept pushing the butter to the sides of the bowl, so I had to stop and scrape down more than once. Eventually, though, the dough turned smooth and shiny. Covered with plastic wrap, it was left to rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half until doubled.
Once risen, I turned the dough out and kneaded it briefly to knock it back. The recipe calls for rolling the dough to three inches thick, then cutting out 16 doughnuts with a 7 cm cutter. Strangely, I could only manage 12. That meant my doughnuts were larger than intended, but I had followed the instructions exactly.
The cut rounds went onto a tray, covered again with plastic wrap, and left to double once more.
While they rose, I made the custard. The recipe actually places this step after the doughnuts are cooked, but starting early saves time later. It is a classic custard: milk and a split vanilla pod brought to the boil, then combined with whisked egg yolks and sugar. Cornflour is sifted in, everything whisked continuously until thick, then cooled, covered with cling wrap, and refrigerated.
The doughnuts fried in my benchtop deep fryer in batches, a few minutes on each side until golden. The dough is delicate, so lowering them in without losing their shape or burning your fingers takes some care. Cooked doughnuts rested on a wire rack while the next batch fried.
Still warm, they were rolled through a cinnamon-sugar mixture, then cooled completely before filling. This was the trickiest part. Even with pre-cut holes and a strong squeeze, it was hard to get enough jam and custard into the centre. Eventually, though, each doughnut was filled and ready.
The Verdict
These are good, tasty doughnuts, denser than light, but still delicious. The real letdown was the filling. The recipe instructs you to fill generously, but the quantity provided was on the stingy side. For the kind of outrageous, stuffed-to-bursting doughnut this recipe promises, I would recommend doubling the filling.
Would I Make It Again?
Possibly, though I do not think they will replace the Simply Vegan Baking doughnuts as my go-to. Those are lighter, fluffier, easier to stuff, and a more manageable size for one serving. Cobb Lane’s version is tasty and impressive, but for me they sit just behind.
Worth Knowing
In the introduction, Cobb Lane says that to make excellent doughnuts you must prepare the dough the day before and allow for a longer proof. The recipe itself, however, is written as a same-day version that takes only a few hours. I wish the longer method had been included, even as a note, so that home cooks could choose the full experience.
The doughnuts are dense, so filling them requires effort. Even with a piping bag, you will need to press hard to get the custard and jam inside.
These keep well in an airtight container in the fridge. To refresh them, warm briefly in the microwave for about 20 seconds before eating.
Cooking through The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook felt like dipping into the city itself. Bagels and schmears for a lazy weekend morning, fried chicken that could anchor a lively dinner, gnocchi worthy of a special occasion, and doughnuts that end things on a sweet, if slightly heavy, note.
Like Melbourne, the book thrives on variety, moving easily between comfort food and restaurant polish. Not every recipe is perfect, but the best of them capture the kind of cooking that makes you want to gather friends around a table. For me, it was proof that Melbourne’s food culture does not only live in its cafés and laneways. With the right book, it can live in your kitchen too.
Want to Try It Yourself?
If The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook sounds like your kind of book, restaurant-quality dishes, bold flavours, and a true taste of Melbourne, you can pick up a copy below.
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