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Life in the time of lockdown: Rise to the occasion, bake some bread
As stocks dip, shelves empty and time drags during the lockdown, more people are doing the same. #HomemadeBread has been trending on social media, with people sharing pictures, recipes and anecdotes.
Kabir Chowdhry, a filmmaker from Mumbai, was in Chandigarh for a family event when the lockdown was enforced. “I guess I panicked that supplies would be hit, so I started baking bread, among other things,” he says.
As stocks dip, shelves empty and time drags during the lockdown, more people are doing the same. #HomemadeBread has been trending on social media, with people sharing pictures, recipes and anecdotes.
“My father posted my first loaf and the comments were very encouraging,’ says Upasana Mishra, 28, from Noida. “Even though it was the first, it turned out quite well. We really enjoyed it with hummus, and it made for some variety in our family of foodies.”
It can be hard, baking bread from scratch, but also addictive. Chowdhry says he now spends about an hour every day baking, not just for family, but for friends and neighbours too. “I’ve been getting requests,” he says. “People tried to insist on paying, but when I refused, they started bringing me things in exchange. I have received pudding, sandwiches… it’s lovely,” he says.
SWEET TO SAVOURY
If you already bake cakes, you’re part-way there. Mishra and Chowdhry were both cake bakers before they turned to bread, as was Kolkata resident Kaniska Chakraborty. “My mother is big on breads. Every morning she needs her two slices of toast for breakfast. Ditto for my wife. When supplies were hit, I decided to finally start baking bread myself — something I’d actually been wanting to do for a long time,” he says.
The process can be long and laborious, but Indians are a step ahead in experience. “We’re used to making rotis, so kneading the flour for the dough feels easier,” says Shalini Adams, a home baker and food blogger based in Delhi.
Griselda Monte da Silva, a chef from Goa, has been baking bread for her family during the lockdown. “Bread was never my specialty. But with local bakeries closed, I thought it was time I brushed up on this skill. I’ve been making a lot of Goan pao,” she says.
FOLLOW THE RECIPE
That’s what Mishra says she did. But be careful to pick one that suits you, depending not only on what ingredients and leavening agents — yeast, baking soda or baking powder — you’re using, have but also how you intend to bake — in a pressure cooker, microwave or oven.
Ideally, choose a recipe suited to your weather, says Monte da Silva. “A recipe by someone in the West may suggest leaving the dough out to prove for a period far longer than is required in our hot climate,” she says.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Your bread is going to taste different, feel different, look different, and that’s okay. It will also be healthier, with none of the preservatives and chemicals used in most commercially produced bread.
Allow for mistakes. Chakraborty’s first attempt didn’t turn out so well because he put too much soda in it. The second was better but still too dense. “You have to keep trying, because that’s the only way to get it right. Start with something easy – like a focaccia – which is good for confidence boosting”, says food writer Rhea Mitra Dalal.
