Breaking Bread with the Bread Guru

My first tryst with Sourdough bread was in USA.Had tomato soup in a sourdough bread bowl in LA.Then when I visited my friends in Napa Valley, Kavita and Brendan,I was bowled over by it everywhere.Gorgeous and delicious sourdough bread with a tough crust and soft,slightly tart crumb made by artisanal bakeries,culinary institutes (CIA) and signature restaurants chosen by my friends
One can get sourdough bread in Mumbai at very few places.I particularly like the one from La Folie and Kitchen Garden.Guess it has something to do with the origins of the bread in Europe.It was taken to America from there during the Gold Rush
For the past year,I've been following Sujit Sumitran on Instagram after an acquaintance attended his class in Goa.Yes,that's where he lives.After dabbling in sales,marketing and in the technical sphere,he gave up his job at the age of 50  yrs to start his own consultancy.I have met so many people who give up their original profession to pursue their passion and all of them are hugely successful!!! Even at our class we had people who had done so
His interest in bread started since two years after he bought a bread machine for his wife.He then went on to explore other ways of making it more nutritious and flavorful and has now  become India's Sourdough Bread Guru!
I was terribly excited when I heard he'd be conducting classes in Mumbai,Bengaluru and Delhi! Almost two months ago,I booked my seat for an Easter Sunday class,not knowing that 1st April is also National Sourdough Bread Day in USA.

We were ten of us from different parts of Mumbai: Goregaon,Vashi,Chembur,Dadar,Matunga,Juhu and other places! From fields as diverse as Behavioural Science,Medicine,Fitness to Catering and Jewellery Designing.All bound by our keenness to learn how to bake sourdough bread from Sujit and what a journey that was!! Had someone told me how elaborate the whole process is,I might've changed my mind.We started at 9am and ended at 6pm but at the end.....it was totally worth the effort! Talk about the sensuous seduction of baking!
 We were like the dough we were kneading....a universe of happy interactions with Sujit as the Mother Starter! Whilst we folded and tucked the dough several times,we learnt about patience and commitment,dexterity and artistry As we added the seeds to the dough,we learnt how to add that extra crunch to life.Finally when we saw our product,we could only marvel at nature that had quietly helped us all along

From Sujit, we learnt that the biology and mathematics of baking! The dough is not inert but actually a mini universe with organisms like Lactobacillus and Yeast which cause fermentation of dough and cause it to rise. They also add flavor and stability to the dough.He taught us how to add unusual ingredients to the dough like green chilli,coconut oil and raw banana flour.The tough task of baker's maths was all about how much of which ingredient to take, to maintain the right hydration.The calculations put me in a tizzy!! But if you thought it was all serious stuff,you're wrong! You have yet to hear his naughty comparisons!

The class enthralled all!! Right from smelling the sour starter  to guessing  the ingredients in the crackers and sangria he served us! The other thing is that when Sujit is giving pearls of wisdom about baking,you can't help wondering if he is talking about your life! Talk of serendipity!!

We were lucky to have Sushma Sharma,a behavioural scientist with us....she made correlations between bringing up a baby and making bread.She pointed out thatChild is the father of man.The baby has several characteristics like the parent but we don't want a carbon copy.It's all about the mother starter and then adding stuff and letting go, for it to develop into something unique and magical

Our sourdough loaf was made with whole wheat and organic all purpose flour ( maida)  alongwith a natural starter comprising of yeast and lactobacillus.

We learnt about ancient grains like Paigambari (a type of wheat) and different millets and their value in current Indian diets.Sujit milled the grain in front of us.

We discussed the variety of seeds available that could go into our loaf and also the various types of liquids that could be used including black carrot kanji.Suddenly all the local produce available seemed far more exciting! I follow Chef Thomas Zacharias of the Bombay Canteen on social media too.He is a proponent of the same and it is a joy to see his posts and discover Indian grains,vegetables and fruits as he journeys across the country to explore local cuisines for his restaurant

The bread as we discussed earlier is made of flour,water and salt but what sets it into action is the starter.The starter has the microorganisms.Our starter went by the name Bavarian Black Death 1633! Yes,we are are still alive after consuming it...Hahaha!!
This starter has to be fed at regular intervals to be kept alive and our guru made sure we were too!

We had tantalizing Prawn Curry and Vegetable Ishtew by Sudha Sumitran (Sujit's wife)  mopped up with sourdough bread Sujit baked for us.

Dessert was the perfect chocolate cake by Anurita,whose Bandra based baking studio (Eighth) was the one we were at.

It didn't end there! We then learnt how to decorate our loaves with stencils or otherwise.We were exposed to a bevy of beautiful baking tools in the process

When our loaves finally came out of the oven,the aroma wafted across the entire apartment and so did the smiles that  followed!

We broke into a bread dance,which Sujit bombed in his signature style.All in all,it was a great way of celebrating Easter !! An Easter on which we discovered Bread indeed is Life!!