Bombay Buzz
Top 5 Sourdough Bakers
Are you familiar with the ingredient? Would you switch from your daily bread to sourdough? Or are you a sourdough fan already? This fermented wild yeast dough is a fascinating thing that begins from a starter – a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and good bacteria – and blossoms into a dough that you can use to whip up a healthy bread with a flavour all its own. Bombay has quite a handful of bakers who are experts in sourdough and have a range of products at their establishments for you to partake of. La Folie has a neat selection of the finest while Americano’s is one addictive speciality sourdough. We all know how good Mag St. Bread Co.! Try Masa Bakery, with three varieties and Suchali’s Artisan Bakehouse, where seven sourdough breads await your tingling taste buds.
La Folie
We know this very popular confectionery brand for their chocolates and cakes they dish out from their lab, but Pastry Queen, Chef Sanjana Patel has much more under her sleeve. Did you know that La Folie is known for its breads that include a wide array of sourdough, fresh and inviting. Quinoa Sourdough, Buckwheat and Oats Sourdough, Olive & Roasted Garlic Sourdough, a Whole Wheat Sourdough, Seeded Multigrain Sourdough and a French Baguette Sourdough, too. Try the Pain au Chocolat in sourdough bread and the Butter Croissant as well. There’s a Harvest Loaf on the shelves, which is yours for the taking, either at the La Folie stores in Kala Ghoda and Mahalaxmi or via delivery, at www.lafolie.in
Americano
It bodes us well to take a walk to this Kala Ghoda eatery by ex-Table chef, Alex Sanchez and partner, Mallyeka Watsa when we want a nice little lunch to keep us sated yet awake during the work day. But more so, Americano is for the sourdough, one among our top choices for the bread in Bombay. It’s just the one that Chef Alex rustles up, and that’s enough. The San Francisco Sourdough is flavoured with wild fennel and a cultured butter that renders it a soft yet crunchy texture with a mild taste, just right! Leave it to the chef from San Fran to hold authority over this sourdough, so you know you’re in trusted hands here. This works great for when we want to slather some avocado on or some chicken liver pâté – perfect little nibbles with sourdough that is comforting. Head to Americano to pick yours up, no delivery for this order, unfortunately!
Mag St. Bread Co.
Toasted sourdough during Sunday breakfasts/brunches at Mag St. Kitchen (Bandra and Lower Parel added on later) by The Table folks, Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf, is always a splendoured thing. You know you’re paying for what it’s worth given the high quality fare from ingredients that have been worked on with precision. Which is why Mag St. Bread Co., their bread-only brand, is popular amongst dough lovers for their freshly delivered artisan breads! Bestsellers include the Mag St. Sourdough Loaf, using a seven-year-old starter, the Nachni Sourdough Loaf and a focaccia made from sourdough. The Sourdough Baguette is another classic one, with a crusty exterior and a soft inner crumb. Orderonline at www.linktr.ee/magstreetbreadco
Masa Bakery
Masa in Latin America refers to the dough used to make tortillas. Founder of this tony café and cloud kitchen in Juhu, Anushka Malkani, knows just the right amount of dough and nurtures her starter with care to serve up some noteworthy sourdough. She emphasises on high quality ingredients and innovative methods in baking that are reflected in the variety, inclusive of three sourdough breads. A simple focaccia, a Classic Sourdough and the Jalapeno & Cheddar Sourdough, filled with a flavour that is sharp and lingers. Chef Anushka’s education and experience from Switzerland and Paris have held her in good stead here, where Masa – the ‘bakery of proximity’ – works hard to procure ingredients within a nearby radius and deliver across the city. Visit www.masabakery.in
Suchali’s Artisan Bakehouse
‘Naturally leavened sourdough breads and baked goods of the finest quality’, that’s their USP, and they stay true to it. The proof is in the bread! They began in Delhi NCR but have spread their net wide, to reach Calcutta and our very own Bombay. The bakehouse, founded by Suchali Jain, a finance expert turned food entrepreneur, offers a range of five sourdoughs, from a Country Sourdough to an Olive & Rosemary Sourdough, a Multigrain and a 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough, as well as a Jalapeno & Cheddar Sourdough. Vegan folk can order the speciality Seedfeast Sourdough, a very seedy affair. Take a look at their breads at www.suchalisartisanbakehouse.com and bring home the sourdough goodness!