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18th May 2012

Images by Sonali Mahajan

Freshly baked in Pune

by Sonali Mahajan

The delicious whiff of freshly baked bread vies with the savoury trace of the vegetable pattice (stuffed pastry); the aroma of coconut pastries mingles with the sweetness of jam biscuits; crisp, flaky, short-cut kharis (twisted biscuits) crane their crooked necks to catch your eye.

It’s a typical day at Santosh Bakery – busy and early. A family business going back three generations, every father-son duo works hard at satisfying the bakery cravings of Punekars with religious zeal. Nothing less than perfection is accepted. The batter, the now greatly increased menu, the magical, neverending supply, the quick service and of course, the taste. With a process going on nearly round-the-clock, everything at Santosh Bakery is fresh. The treats keep coming. And so does the crowd.

Is it savouries you seek? Or has your sweet tooth been nudging you lately? Perhaps you’re a traditionalist – bread and buns being more up your alley. The menu is just right, and nobody leaves empty-handed. This unless it’s the vegetable pattice you’re after.

One of the fastest moving items, you need to time your visit to get your hands on this scrumptious delicacy, only available on early mornings and evenings. And be ready to brave the crowds. Not unruly or pushy-punchy, mind you. Santosh Bakery clientele is well-bred and mindful of everybody’s need to go home victorious. But wait could be slightly long, though well worth it. You can have the pattice right then by the road or take it home to be had cold. Tastes wonderful either way.

While you’re waiting, we suggest you use your time constructively in deciding on your shopping list. In the sweet section you can choose among cream-rolls, cashew nut biscuits, jam biscuits, coconut biscuits, cupcakes and coconut pastries. For savouries, there are twisted shortcut biscuits and their Bombay counterpart (shortcut pastry without the twist), jeera butter (cumin flavoured, bun shaped, hard biscuit), and toast (sliced bread that has been browned by heat) – a great accompaniment to tea.

Pune’s renown for bakeries is far and wide. So what makes Santosh Bakery so special? Is it the fondness for a place that has not succumbed to automation and still produces every product through human intervention? (You won’t find the regular gas or electric ovens here. It is coal and mud stoves that have been getting that inimitable Santosh Bakery flavour all these years.) Or is it the familiarity? Perhaps the location? Perhaps all of it?

Whatever it is, Santosh Bakery makes it alright to have an oven at home used just to warm up market-bought cookies. And to succumb to the indulgence (occasional or otherwise) of delicious bakery products. And to ignore good-intentions and instead follow the diktats of the nose.