Secret Service: At this obscure bakery, breads and cookies come just the way you’d want them — fresh, healthy and baked to perfection Namita Kohli The Indian Express Tuesday , July 04, 2006At about eight in the morning, the smell of freshly baked bread beckons you. Follow the trail and you end up at a humble bakery with typically yellow and soot-covered walls at Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Once inside, you discover other temptations: spongy chocolate and coconut cakes, ginger and peanut biscuits and, of course, breads. All of which find their way into little packets worth Rs 10-20 at the grocery store in the Ashram premises.
Besides being freshly prepared every day, what makes these products special is the ingredients. ‘‘No chemicals, no preservatives, no eggs and no artificial colours or flavours are used,’’ says Shyamanand, who not only heads the bakery but also teaches baking to students at the ashram in six-month courses. ‘‘Just some soda does the trick,’’ he adds.
So every morning, Shyamanand, along with four of his students, bakes close to 25 kg of cakes — chocolate, apple, banana or peach — nearly 100-120 biscuits in atta, elaichi, kaju and jira flavours, and breads in good numbers.
The bakery is attached to the Mother’s International School, and that is where a good share of its clientele comes from. ‘‘Right now, the school is closed. Once it opens, there’s a lot of rush. The children especially love the chocolate cake we bake,’’ says Shyamanand, as he fetches a fresh batch of breads from the oven.
‘‘Our bread is fortified with atta, while the biscuits, like the special mother biscuits, with besan,’’ informs a plucky Sunil Kumar, a student. People like Kumar undergo a six-month training at the kitchen and bakery, all free of cost. ‘‘I want to join the army after finishing the course here,’’ says the 21-year-old, as he packs the bread to be sent to the store.
At the store, there are always the regulars trooping in for some fresh delights. Says Dr Vijaya Kumar, a resident of Vasant Kunj: ‘‘The breads and cakes are much healthier than the standard fare available in the market. I prefer coming down every two or three days to this place, instead of buying the regular bread from shops.’’ Who says health food is boring?
Besides being freshly prepared every day, what makes these products special is the ingredients. ‘‘No chemicals, no preservatives, no eggs and no artificial colours or flavours are used,’’ says Shyamanand, who not only heads the bakery but also teaches baking to students at the ashram in six-month courses. ‘‘Just some soda does the trick,’’ he adds.
So every morning, Shyamanand, along with four of his students, bakes close to 25 kg of cakes — chocolate, apple, banana or peach — nearly 100-120 biscuits in atta, elaichi, kaju and jira flavours, and breads in good numbers.
The bakery is attached to the Mother’s International School, and that is where a good share of its clientele comes from. ‘‘Right now, the school is closed. Once it opens, there’s a lot of rush. The children especially love the chocolate cake we bake,’’ says Shyamanand, as he fetches a fresh batch of breads from the oven.
‘‘Our bread is fortified with atta, while the biscuits, like the special mother biscuits, with besan,’’ informs a plucky Sunil Kumar, a student. People like Kumar undergo a six-month training at the kitchen and bakery, all free of cost. ‘‘I want to join the army after finishing the course here,’’ says the 21-year-old, as he packs the bread to be sent to the store.
At the store, there are always the regulars trooping in for some fresh delights. Says Dr Vijaya Kumar, a resident of Vasant Kunj: ‘‘The breads and cakes are much healthier than the standard fare available in the market. I prefer coming down every two or three days to this place, instead of buying the regular bread from shops.’’ Who says health food is boring?
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