A slice of bread saves the day for most households in the city. Toasted, plain or tossed into an upma — the humble bread takes on variations every single day. Being a combination of flour, water, salt, and yeast, with a dash of patience and time, bread now shares the same spot as the traditional idli and dosa. So, it’s logical to wonder why Chennai bakes more cakes, tarts, cupcakes and spends hours rolling fondant, and not bread dough. Yet, surprisingly, there are a few residents who do catch the sunrise and bake their morning bread too.
“Abroad, you get bread flour; in Chennai, the flour you get is not the right one to make bread. There are multi-grain and whole wheat mixes available now but you have to mix it with plain flour to make bread. Above all, it’s not economical as they come in 5-kg bags,” says Sara Koshy, who has been baking bread at home for the last 19 years. She admits that her first loaf was a disaster, and with time she understood the science of bread-making. “I found I made better buns. Then my family in Singapore sent me a bread-maker in early 2000 and I began experimenting with it.” Today, Sara uses a Kitchen Aid and pops the loaves into the traditional oven.
At 76, Guru Nath bakes his weekly loaf every Saturday. He says that if you have right ingredients in the right proportions, it’s easy. “I learnt to bake bread when I was visiting my daughter in the U.K. in 2000. Ever since I’ve stopped buying bread. I bake plain bread, fruit and nut bread and even hot chilli bread,” he says, with a laugh. Using a bread-maker, he assures that his breads are definitely more nutritious, as they have no preservatives.
Renu Narayan is a vegan who bakes wheat bread, semolina bread, multi-grain bread and foxtail millet semolina bread for her family. She explains that she is self-taught, learning from books and the Internet. “I’m still experimenting for healthier options,” she says. Though she bakes two or three times in a month, she has completely stopped going in for store-packaged breads. “The advantage of home-made bread is that I know the ingredients I am using are healthy and natural. No preservatives, no added gluten, no leaveners, no artificial flavours or colours,” she says, with a smile. Renu kneads the dough by hand, lets it rest and her OTG does the magic. “The climatic conditions in Chennai help the dough rise faster; so in about an hour and a half, the dough is ready to be put in the oven,” she adds.
Sara Koshy adds that she bakes plain bread only in case of emergencies, otherwise she loves baking garlic and basil flatbreads, cheese breads, olive and onion loaves and stuffed buns and rolls. If she lacks time, she heads to a local bakery near her home to pick a fresh loaf of bread. “I have bread for breakfast everyday and have been doing so from when I can remember. I spend time experimenting with new recipes,” she says. “Home-made bread has no preservatives. Of course, it may not win any prizes in a beauty contest, and sometimes, there is uneven rising and that affects the final shape of the bread. But, when you bake at home, you can add herbs, nuts or even fruit.”
Harini Sankaranarayan learnt to bake bread at the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Chennai, where she was pursuing a degree. “Today, I bake breads at least once a week and I bring to the table everything from whole wheat bread to bagels, focaccia, cinnamon rolls, ciabatta and semolina bread,” she reveals. “The main challenge is getting hold of the ingredients. You need three hours to bake bread, and the power cuts in the city do sometimes pose a challenge,” she says.
During parties, she is the ‘bread in-charge’, whipping up some interesting serves for her family and friends. Though she sometimes does use a food processor to knead the dough, she prefers hand-kneading. “You can feel the dough change and become supple and pliable. It can be a stress buster,” says Harini. She and her 16-year-old daughter, both love to bake bread together.
There is something definitely sensual about the aroma of freshly baked bread — the flavour, the texture, the crispness of the crumb, and whichever form it takes, there is an undefined affection for the loaf.
