Brioche burger buns to black rice loaves, Chennai bakers are giving bread all-new avatars

Bread makes the whole lot higher. Or so the pandemic has taught us. Whereas of us remoted, attended work conferences by means of a display screen or awakened on a Sunday with nowhere to go, the one factor all of us needed to consolation our souls was ‘bread’. Some baked it, spamming our social media feeds with completely bronzed crusts of sourdough. Others ordered in. And boy, did Chennai’s bakers ship. Korean cream cheese buns, babkas braided with decadent swirls of darkish chocolate and sugar dusted cinnamon rolls arrived at our doorsteps. Candy, savoury, sinful… satisfying. Quick observe to the current: and a healthful ‘Sunday sourdough sesh’ looks like a distant reminiscence. One which we’re blissful to revisit on our Instagram grids however with our days again to enterprise as typical, maybe not as usually, within the house kitchen. On the flipside, industrial bakeries are nonetheless driving the artistic wave of momentum round bread, sparked by the lockdown. 

Holy grain
It began with the buzzword ‘immunity’. “Submit COVID-19, there was a whole lot of consciousness and deal with well being therefore we’re within the means of growing kinds of sourdough reminiscent of complete wheat sourdough and multigrain sourdough,” says Sweta Garapati of the Outdated Madras Bakery. In the meantime, their 11-grain cereal bread (packing in flaxseed, oats, foxtail and kodo millets) rapidly shot up in demand. Extra millets, extra gross sales. You may say that over the previous couple of years, the indigenous millet has rapidly gone from forgotten to chill child on the block. Bread and Chocolate in Alwarpet rolled out a Gluten-free bread made with a mixture of brown rice and millets that’s seasoned with virgin oil and Himalayan pink salt. (INR 150). Whereas a brief drive away, Brod Bakery on ECR has a denser Danish-inspired Black Rice bread with complete wheat, millets and ragi. Count on earthy notes from the black rice and trace of nuttiness from the sunflower seeds on high. (INR 280).

Nonetheless, our most unusual discover was after a dialog with Chindi Varadarajulu, chef and associate at Pumpkin Tales. Chindi had been researching different flours to place into her sourdough and was delighted when she found one of many three oldest grains on the planet — Enmer — was accessible proper right here in India. “I get mine from Maharashtra and Karnataka,” she says. Relationship all the best way again to Mesopotamian occasions, this grain also referred to as khapli wheat shouldn’t be refined, white or polished and is filled with dietary advantages. These embody remedial properties to deal with diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses. As for style and texture, Chindi shares, “I take advantage of the grain and flour to make a  sourdough that may be a little bit candy and due to the enmer used, it’s softer than a basic sourdough and never as chewy as one made with complete wheat.” (INR 350).

Chettinad masala sourdough?
In fact, our South Indian palate that grew up on comfortable, spongy loaves — has taken a while to adapt to the crusty, extra rustic sourdough. Which is why Shruthi Sivabalan of the recently-opened Tukaway Café in Nungambakkam is working ‘acquainted flavours’ into her dough. “We began with a primary spiced turmeric, and later added a Chettinad Masala and Spinach and Jeera loaves,” she tells us. (INR 250) Purists could be aghast on the considered a South Indian spice combine working its means right into a European staple, however we realise that extra prospects experimenting with their bread purchases submit lockdown, has given bakers the artistic license to experiment as effectively. “I believe Chennai rediscovered breads after the lockdown and obtained to learn the way versatile a product it truly is,” says Chindi. For the report, we did get an opportunity to pattern a slice of turmeric sourdough toast with some butter. And would positively return for extra.

The truth is, uniquely-flavoured artisanal breads have an entire sub market of their very own. Instagram bake store Past Loaf, an enterprise borne from the pandemic started with Podi Bombs laden with swirls of ghee and a mixture of podis from three totally different cities (Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad) final yr, alongside one other hotseller, the Mexican Fiesta Bundt that pairs with a tacky dip. “We have now all of those flavour mixtures in thoughts, and bread is such an awesome automobile to hold them,” says Ritesh Parakh, who began the enterprise with spouse Shikha. Their newest addition is flavour-packed bun that they name the Matka. A mini bread deal with on high might be eliminated to disclose a spicy, tacky filling of corn, bell peppers, onion and garlic inside. We are able to’t wait to offer this one a go! (INR 325 for 3 items)

Past breakfast
Slowly however certainly, bread has develop into a lot greater than a useful two slice go-to. It’s introduced us creativity and heat, contemporary out of an oven. Typically, nostalgia comes from a childhood reminiscence of distinct aroma from a well-recognized bakery. Probably why, the Coconut Bun on the Outdated Madras Bakery, shot up in reputation through the early days of the lockdown. And it has given us one thing to stay up for, as effectively. “Individuals like novel style experiences,” says Ritesh. A lot so, that he shares, fairly often orders have been gifting choices for family and friends, shut by and additional away. “We’ve delivered artisanal breads so far as Madurai, Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Mumbai,” Ritesh tells us. And it definitely isn’t restricted to breakfast anymore. “We don’t even ship within the morning!” Ritesh shares with fun.

Give ’em pumpkin to speak about

With Halloween across the nook, Samia Sait, the proprietor of Tryst Café tells us that her workforce has a batch of ‘pumpkin formed’ loaves accessible. Supposed as a enjoyable centrepiece for the dinner desk, this multigrain milk bread is prone to be a swell dialog starter. INR 200, accessible until October 31. Additionally, to not miss is their Peanut Butter and Jelly Danish, impressed from a day that Samia had a P&J craving however didn’t have the endurance to go and make a sandwich. INR 150.