WINNING FLAVOURS

WILD YEAST CONQUESTS

For Nerissa Joanne D’Souza, 32, a telecom engineer, the highlight of holidays spent in Goa was poi (Goan pao) on the breakfast table, something that was only available there. Later, a stint in Germany made her switch from white bread to artisan ones. On her return, D’Souza knew her search for good bread could only end in her own kitchen.

It was after extensive reading and failed experiments with instant yeast that she stumbled upon sourdough and began learning the nutritional aspects of natural bread. Ever since, she has baked a loaf with everything from coffee decoction to semolina to curry leaves. “I started out with a gas oven and had no reference material except for pictures. Hence, I had no expectations and was happy when every loaf turned out better than the previous one,” she says. For a year now, she has spent her weekends baking small batches of sourdough and hand delivering them to customers. From a sweet loaf with jaggery and dal inspired by the Konkani delicacy poderacho bol to a popular curry leaf loaf, D’Souza’s inspiration comes from pairing disparate ingredients. SIGNATURE LOAF The coffee walnut bread started u out as walnut bread inspired by one that her flatmates in Germany would eat

SUGGESTED PAIRING A layer of cheese, scrambled u eggs or sour cream AT facebook.com/WildYeastConquests/ PRICE `250 onwards Order on weekends