SPOTLIGHT | Breaking Bread, Thoroughly
Written by Sanjana Arun aka ashberry, a 20-year-old, queer film student from Pune; with inputs from Gauri Pokhariyal, founder of Gauri’s ThoroughBreads.
If you ask me what lies at the center of the universe, I’d probably say “bread”. Because sometimes, all it takes to make a great story is flour, water, and a good oven.
Bread is a love language on its own (that possibly outweighs all other love languages, but hey, that’s just me). Culture has moulded this simple pleasure to fit its needs, and all it took for that to happen was three simple ingredients. And a whole bunch of other accompanying ingredients, but those are optional so my point still stands. The ingenuity in manipulating dough, the pursuit of such an inherently intricate activity that ultimately ends up in loved ones’ stomachs, it's all so…human.
Probably Relevant Side-Note: My roommates giggle at me because as I write this article, they’re sitting on their beds, each with a sandwich in hand. Which, kinda just goes to illustrate my point, tbh.
And it’s this human-ness that we highlight with this month’s spotlight, Gauri’s ThoroughBreads.
Gauri’s ThoroughBreads - your daily sourdough artisan breads and more, is based in Pune, and we Puneites are certainly better off for it. The breads - of which there is a large variety (see the menu attached at the end to see what I mean) are baked fresh to order each day with a whole lotta love and delivered straight to your home. There's your regular baguettes, ciabatta, bagels as well as fan-favourites like multigrain loaves, burger buns and tutti-fruity rolls. And then there are the works of art: boules that unfurl like lotuses, star-shaped garlic bread to share with your family (whoever they may be), sweet wool rolls with chocolate chunks that look like something out of a fairytale and whimsical little caterpillar rolls with savoury fillings. My favourite though, are the braided breads. There is just such joy in tearing pieces of soft, wonderful-smelling bread from these intricately-woven meshes.
My favourite though, are the braided breads. There is just such joy in tearing pieces of soft, wonderful-smelling bread from these intricately-woven meshes.
Special Recommendation: The Braided Cinnamon Loaf, eat as it is or heat in the oven for a minute and slather on malai for that little bit extra!
And let's not forget, there’s pizza on weekends. As well as gluten-free options to choose from!
To get a more thorough understanding of these ThoroughBreads, check out the full spread on Instagram @gauristhoroughbreads which boasts a wide variety of gobsmackingly delicious-looking baked goods. The precision with which these goods are made, and the attention to detail that they demand, make every single one of them unique and personalized.
Like a lot of the small business and local ventures we highlight, Gauri’s ThoroughBreads was a pandemic baby. Gauri Pokhariyal had been working as a recruitment consultant for over a decade when the lockdowns hit. She had always been fond of baking and fascinated by dough. With her job slowing down, she chanced upon the Enthubakers where she learned to craft her first sourdough bread in April 2020 and whose members held her hand as she graduated from a 'touch-and feel' weekend baker to the world of professional baking.
Probably Relevant Side-Note: Bread doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the most versatile foods there is. The oldest evidence of bread comes to us from 8000 BCE, from Egypt, where the first sourdough is thought to have been created as a by-product of beer. But bread has roots all over the globe and if you want to dig into that, I highly recommend this dutifully detailed read by William Rubel, Bread: A Global History.
For Gauri, baking is not just about serving up delicious treats, it's about memories that resonate with people. “Bread, in its various forms, has been my go to food for as long as I can remember. The fragrance of bread, freshly baked by my mother, is one of my earliest childhood memories,” she says. Gauri spent her childhood in various faraway places since her father was an IAF pilot. So for her a slice of fresh bread has always meant home-baked bread. She also married an armed forces man and one of the highlights of her honeymoon at Mussoorie in the freezing cold of winter, were the famous hot buns of Dehradun.
Here’s Gauri in the place she loves best, her kitchen at home.
On learning about Gauri’s methods, I understood that my idea of bread-making was a grossly oversimplified version of the actual process. Each step is meticulous and demands a ridiculous amount of attention to detail. Calculations and measurements are at the core of the perfect rise, colour, and texture. I imagine professional baking to be equal parts art and craft.
What starts out as a low-key hobby or passion, takes months of dedication and skill to perfect, and professional baking is no exception.
Probably Relevant Side-Note: According to artincontext.org, the major difference between art and crafts is that crafts are something you can easily reproduce, while arts are more unique and cannot be duplicated. Crafts can be more functional, while art is an emotional manifestation. In many cases, crafts can be just as expressive as art, so often, both may overlap by definition.
When it comes to running your own business, I imagine the challenges are endless. Being able to put out fires as they come up is a key skill to have in your arsenal and for a business of perishables, the complications increase manifold. For Gauri, the concerns lie primarily in maintaining a consistent standard of quality in her products. Each bread has its own personality, and accordingly, its own needs.
“Imagine creating a complex sourdough bread where in every instant, temperature, humidity, oven fluctuations, etc are changing”, she says.
A day in the life of a professional baker is no walk in the park either. Preparing for the process takes even longer than the actual process because as Gauri puts it, “I spend a lot of time ensuring that I have suppliers of the highest quality. I am constantly on vigil and examine each consignment personally.”This means early mornings and late nights of measuring, calculations, and what we’re assuming can only be a symphony of timers going off at the same time. What a way to start your day!
The afternoons look just as busy, with orders to dispatch and keep track of, endless calls to return, and stock-taking. Not to mention what I imagine must be a very hungry husband, daughter, and cat to feed. I wouldn’t blame them, I’d be ravenous too if my house smelled like freshly baked bread every morning.
And if you are ravenous too after reading about all that bread, check out the current menu and rates here. Then head over to Gauri’s ThoroughBreads on Instagram and DM Gauri to place your order. You can also place your orders by sending a message over WhatsApp to +91 9969409515.
Do remember though, because everything is made fresh and to order, sourdough orders need to be placed 2 days in advance and everything else can be ordered a day before. Deliveries are made all over Pune through Dunzo4Business.
And since ‘tis the season, you can also ask for Christmas specials when you message.
And of course, because we always believe in sweetening the deal, you can add the code “RELEVANTBREADS” at the top of your order to get a 15% discounts. This is applicable once per person through the month of December.
And finally, remember when we said, “Once we exchange a recipe, we’re family.” Well here’s another one for the family cookbook.
Homemade Buns (Eggless) from Gauri Pokhriyal
These Buns are soft and fluffy, make them once and you'll never go out to buy them again!
Ingredients
250 grams milk
8 grams instant dry yeast
50 grams powdered sugar
400 grams all-purpose flour
8 grams salt
60 grams butter, softened
1 large egg +1 tablespoon water- for egg wash OR Extra Milk for milk wash
Sesame seeds
Method:
Step 1: Warm the milk, for a few seconds- it should be lukewarm. Add the yeast, sugar and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, butter, and the milk & yeast mixture. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients and knead it by hand for about 8-10 minutes until smooth. When done, round the dough into a ball.
Step 3: Keep the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with a damp cloth to proof until doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 4: After 45 mins- 1 hour, knock the gas out of the dough and divide it into 8-10 equal pieces. To shape the buns, roll each piece into a round ball. Place each ball on a greased baking sheet.
Step 5: Cover the buns with a tea towel and let them rest / proof for approximately 30-45 minutes- until double in size.
Step 6: While the Buns are resting, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Step 7: Once the Buns have doubled in size, brush them with an egg wash (whisk an egg with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth) or Milk wash and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Step 8: When baked, place the buns on a wire rack to cool. Brush them with butter.
Step 9: Wait for them to cool down before you can slice them. Eat them with plain butter or slice them and make Burgers.
As always, send us pictures when you give this recipe a try and we’ll do our best to make you famous on the ArtNowThus Instagram.
Content Disclaimer: Spotlight is a special category of Probably Relevant content that may be promotional in nature. While we do receive compensation for some of the stuff you see here, we do our damned best to ensure that all the information represented here is accurate and that you receive only our most honest opinions and findings on those topics, events, or products.