You may well have even joined the throng and baked a few loaves of your own.

One silver lining of COVID-19 has been the surge of interest in baking fresh bread from all natural ingredients.

Across the nation Australians have taken the opportunity to reconnect with the rawest of ingredients to create something almost primal.

Through a painstakingly personal process of fermenting, feeding, mixing, kneading, shaping, proofing, baking and resting, people of all walks of life have been giving life to their own delicious baked creations.

Lockdown provided people with the usually scant time to bake and a financial tightening of our belts has certainly added to the motivation.

Slow cooking from base ingredients and the personal connection with our food that it fosters has often been a casualty of modern lifestyles so it's great to see so many people embracing the challenge and the experience.

If cared for properly a sourdough starter can be kept alive and functional for decades, perhaps indefinitely.

The routine of feeding, warming, cooling, taking from and giving back to the starter can be almost like caring for a pet and there's no greater satisfaction than enjoying the taste and aroma of your own freshly baked bread.

Part of sourdough's appeal lies in the honesty and simplicity of it's ingredients which rarely extend beyond flour, water, a little salt and a starter culture which can be easily made by fermenting fruit with sugar and feeding it with flour.

The hardest ingredient to find is patience.

On the other hand a standard loaf of sliced white from a supermarket shelf is likely to be stripped of most of its fiber and nutritional value in the milling process, loaded with sugar, and a quick glance at the list of ingredients alerts you to artificial emulsifying agents and stabilising gums.

The sliced white loaves of Wonder White or Tip Top we've grown up with have been an essential 20th century staple as busy lifestyles and a convenience driven food culture has left little time for home-baked bread.

In recent decades Australian tastes have become more sophisticated.

Dietary knowledge has improved and our hunger for a wider range of naturally grown and minimally processed grains has seen many shoppers head back to artisanal bakeries.

Australia's largest flour mill sits right here in our own backyard; family owned Manildra Flour Mills which has been operating since 1952.

"We've never experienced such an unprecedented level of demand," says managing director John Honan. "We have increased our retail flour production by more than 50 per cent - providing an additional 50 million kilograms of locally-made flour."

Forbes based Artisan Grains Australia grows a range of wheat, ancient grains, canola, barley and legumes.

With a focus on sustainable and regenerative farming practices, their stone ground flours are highly sought after by bakers for their nutrient rich qualities and can be found in Orange at The Agrestic Grocer.

Those who are too time-poor to bake their own needn't worry as Orange is blessed with some terrific bakeries.

Racine Bakery produces outstanding sourdough (pictured above) using a range of different flours, as does The Sugar Mill.

Sourdough Bread and Butter Pudding.

It's become fashionable in recent years to use brioche or even old croissants in bread and butter pudding but I think you still can't go past sourdough for it's chewy texture and stronger flavour.