Goan traditional bakery

The first Goan pao were legendary in that they were made using local toddy as a source of natural yeast; this gave the bread a distinctive character that is quite impossible to replicate with any other kind of yeast.

As the last batch of poee came out and the blackened aluminium trays of pao began going in, we were handed a poee each – the freshest I had ever held, scalding hot, coarse and deliciously sweet.

Goa’s Traditional “PODER” The Bread Makers

The three main varieties of Goan bread are the soft and chewy pão (PAO), the crisp undo, and the poie (whole wheat pockets) & Kankna (the bangles). The undo is delicious dipped in hot tea, but it goes especially well with xacuti. Another intriguing form is what is known as katricho pão (lit. scissored bread) where the dough is shaped with scissors. Then there is the kaknam (lit. bangles), rings of crusty bread, so called because they tinkle like glass bangles when fresh out of the oven. 

 

 

 

 

Culinary uses

Bread pudding

Bread can be served at many temperatures once baked, it can subsequently be toasted It is most commonly eaten with the hands, either by itself or as a carrier for other foods. Bread can be dipped into liquids such as gravy olive oil, or soup it can be topped with various sweet and savory spreads, or used to make sandwichescontaining meats cheeses, vegetables, and condiments
Bread is used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations, such as the use of breadcrumbs to provide crunchy crusts or thicken sauces, sweet or savoury bread puddings or as a binding agent in sausages and other ground meat products