Real Bread Week: Mumbai’s hottest independent bakers

Sumit Chowdhury and daughter Aishani

Created in 2010 by the London-based Real Bread Campaign, Real Bread Week seeks to encourage people to consume and bake their own additive-free loaves, and also support local, independent bakers who do the same. And last year, this trend got a boost as home-bound citizens across the globe looked into their pantries and towards their neighborhood bakers to whip up a variety of breads, making it one of the most popular items to emerge out of lockdown kitchens. With the Real Bread Week drawing to a close on February 28, know your local bakers who love what they dough.

Like father, like daughter
Sumit Chowdhury, who runs an AI-based solutions company, would probably remain a Sunday baker had it not been for his teenage daughter, Aishani. When the lockdown was imposed, both their lives - her canceled exams and his business - hit the pause button, pushing them to start their own venture,
The Dough & Batter. Chowdhury, who passed on his passion for baking to his daughter, shares that since March last year, they've completed over 220 days of baking. "Our menu today is inspired by over 36 countries, including rare bread that you don't get in Mumbai such as Georgian Khachapuri, Japanese Shibari, Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bun, Turkish Simit, and more," he shares.
Log on to: buy.thedoughandbatter.in/

Going against the grain

Tardeo resident Aseem Hattangadi had almost given up on baking breads after a few misadventures with sourdough, when the lockdown happened. On his wife's insistence, he attended an intensive workshop by chef Shriya Shetty in May, and discovered a new-found passion for baking bread. As the pandemic slammed the breaks on the travel industry, the travel experience creator started toying with the idea of selling his produce. That's how Bread Zeppelin was born. "The name came about as I was listening to Led Zeppelin while baking.

I wanted a bit of myself in it, and also for the product to have its own USP," says the retro buff. His pop culture inspired repertoire of whole-wheat breads boasts of seven different loaves including the pink garlic confit-laden Sweet child o' mine, Godfather, which has an Italian flavour profile, Light my fire, which packs in Bhut jolokia oil and cheese, and Kolaveri di (in pic), that serves up a mix of turmeric, crushed black pepper and herbs.
Log on to: @thatpunnyboy on Instagram

When life gives you lemons

Versova-based writer Shokhi Banerjee has been baking for friends and family, just like her mother, for as long as she can remember. So, when local shops shuttered during the lockdown, she was flooded with requests, especially for bread. As someone who likes to make lemonade when life hands out lemons, Banerjee started Lemony Loaves. Her mainstay is sourdough. "I wanted to Indianise sourdough, so some of my bestsellers are ragi/amaranth sourdough, turmeric spice loaf, and chilli coconut sourdough, made using the local thecha," she shares about her produce which are all slow-fermented and don't contain sugar, oil, eggs or commercial raising agents. Banerjee also offers subscription models.
Log on to: @mylemonylife on Instagram

A crust-worthy name

From starting off as a small neighbourhood kitchen in Mumbai with four bakers, including herself, to surviving the lockdown and building a 25,000-sq ft pandemic-ready baking factory, The Baker's Dozen has come a long way, reminisces Aditi Handa, co-founder and head baker. TBD bakes come without any preservatives, and are hand-made using traditional methods of baking. The Ahmedabad-headquartered bakery currently offers a wide variety of affordable sourdoughs, daily breads, multigrain loaves, pitas, pavs, croissants, rolls, and gluten-free options, apart from cakes, cookies, etc. "We were among the first few artisan bakeries that offered authentic products. We'll expand our footprint to 15 cities by 2021-end," she says.
Log on to: thebakersdozen.in/order-online

Full pav-er

A conversation about breads in Mumbai is incomplete without the staple Bombay pav, which is an integral part of the city's foodscape, due to its versatility and affordability. "It is a sort of bread culture adapted and truly loved by every Mumbaikar; one can pair pav with everything from butter to hot vada, misal and bhaji. It's suited for all palates," notes Handa.

Banana bread
If you are late to the #bananabread party, baker Aditi Handa shares a recipe to get you started off on this lockdown hit.

Ingredients
>> 110 g flour
>> 100 g powdered sugar
>> 50 g butter
>> 45 g eggs
>> 2 g baking powder
>> 2 g salt
>> 140 g bananas

Method using
a whisk, cream the butter and sugar until it doubles in volume and lightens in color. Add bananas and whisk until light and airy. Tip in the eggs and whisk until double in volume; pour in flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour into mold and bake at 180 ° C for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool and enjoy.