A new bakery in Visakhapatnam is experimenting with preservative-free artisan bread

The sweet smell of freshly-baked multi-grain bread greeted us as we entered this cozy bakery. Bradway, an artisan bakery located in Murali Nagar, Visakhapatnam, “The Home of Chemical Free Bakes”.

City-based VK Sarat started this enterprise in 2022 based on the belief that the food we consume directly determines our health. Spread across 2,000 square feet, the bakery focuses on offering authentic flavors with pizzas, sandwiches, pancakes, cakes and breads and more.

“Since we do not use any chemicals or artificial ingredients to prolong shelf life, we display only freshly baked items daily and replace each item with new ones only when they sell out,” says Sharat.

During the pandemic, when attention shifted to food and health, Autumn was drawn to food processing methods. To understand the science behind creating and processing food in the most natural way, Sharat began studying bakery. “Many bakery units rely on chemical ingredients like artificial emulsifiers. Mass-produced bread uses these emulsifiers to increase shelf life. These can mess up the gut microbiome,” says Sharat.

“We do not use any of these chemical additives in our products,” adds Sharat.

Sharat did his Bachelors in Architecture and Masters in City Planning from IIT Kharagpur before starting his new venture. “We perceive more significance than what we eat. It is as important to a sustainable ecology as it is to nutrition and our experience of the world. I entered the food business for the love of food,” says Sharat.

According to him, any whole ingredient tastes different from its extract or imitation. “It’s more complex and not as clean as the flavors we’re used to in the current market. That’s why we use whole fruits and herbs in our baked goods,” adds Sharat

Sourdough bread at a bakery called Bradway in Visakhapatnam. | Photo credit: KR Deepak

Theme cake colors are taken from natural food colors such as blue for blue pea flowers, yellow for yellow and coffee and cocoa for brown. The bakery also makes its own kombucha.

Autumn is currently experimenting with sourdough bread and says it is an “acquired taste”. Unlike standard store-bought bread, sourdough has a hard, crunchy exterior and a slightly more complex and tangy flavor.

Sourdough crust pizza at a bakery called Bradway in Visakhapatnam. | Photo credit: KR Deepak

“This European style of bread making has become quite popular in the metro cities of India; It’s a little slower to catch on in Tier-II cities, but there are bakers in these smaller cities who are giving the mass-produced commercial yeast bread a break,” says Sharat.

The process of making sourdough is one of the most traditional methods of baking which involves combining flour and water and letting it sit until it ferments with a strong culture of yeast and lactobacillus.

“Naturally occurring acids and prolonged fermentation help break down the gluten; This makes it easier for the body to digest and absorb,” Sarat explains. Most pizza bases at Broadway are sourdough and one can choose from whole wheat or classic crust. Sharat concludes, “Expanding one’s food horizons is important to us. We treat our store like a workshop where we constantly work on new flavors. We understand that some may find this unusual but we never want an experience to be boring.”