The outback community seven hours north of Adelaide became a ghost town the day the Ghan railroad was re-routed in the 1960s, but for eight weeks a year, there is no better place to enjoy freshly baked pies and the can-do spirit of the Farina Restoration Group.

From the end of May until Sunday, July 23, the historic wood-fired underground oven churns out amazing baked goods such as pies and pasties for tourists travelling along the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track.

Farina Restoration Group project officer Steve Harding said the eight-week opening window was dictated by the outback weather and brought the Outback Highway town – official population of 15 – to life.

“We run the program during the winter months in this Far North semi-arid location, as it gets very hot in the summer months,” Harding said.

The Farina Restoration Group.

This coming weekend the pop-up bakery will be extra busy as people head to the town for the annual “Farina v the rest of Australia” cricket match on Saturday and a memorial day for John Napier Bell on Sunday.

Bell was a local boy who became the first Allied airman killed in action in WWII while on a secret mission in France to rescue General Charles de Gaulle’s family on 18 June 1940.

Harding said the idea to reopen the underground wood-fired oven came up in 2010.

“The thinking was if we could reintroduce artisan breadmaking then our visitors would appreciate a new on-site experience,” he said.

“We now cook bread every day for the eight-week season.”

The idea was to sell bread to help fund the restoration of the rest of the historic town, and now volunteers run the bakery as a part of a Farina Restoration Group program “to continue the preservation and exhibition of the old Farina Town”.

“Our current bakery manager Kerry Storer uses his and more traditional networks to find assistant bakers,” Harding said.

“Bakery staff come from all over Australia to experience the ‘Most Remote Underground Pop Up bakery in Australia’.”

Harding said the restoration group also operates the other projects over the cooler weeks, including the Farina Creek Railway precinct.

“Our wonderful staff are all volunteers and we have to manage this group and manage programs such as stonework, walking trails, the museum, bakery and new projects such as the railway re-development,” Harding said.

“Farina is now a recognized major event in the Far North of South Australia and draws many visitors to the region. This in turn helps support the local community businesses.”

Farina has plenty of camping options and the bakery is open seven days a week 8am – 4pm until 23 July for anyone keen on a hot pie in the outback.