It’s the sound of Goa. Every morning at the crack of dawn, the bulb horn of the poder wakes up people across the state, encouraging them to start their day with cheap, freshly baked bread. On Friday, the state’s humble bakers will finally get turn in the spotlight. Goa's first Poderanchem Fest, or Baker's Festival, being hosted in the leafy North Goa village of Succorro, will feature a baker's parade and stalls selling traditional and new varieties of pao, in addition to the region's favourite foods to eat the bread with.
The event was conceptualised by the Succorro village cultural association, but they have been swamped with help. “It's unbelievable,” said cultural activist Marius Fernandes, who runs other similar festivals on a low-cost, volunteer model. “Suddenly the whole of Goa is involved. There are 600 volunteers.”
Goa has more varieties of bread to celebrate than almost any other part of India. In almost every village, residents have a choice of beginning their day with pao (light brown crust, fluffy inside), the poyie (flat, bran pouches), the crustier undo, the four-cornered katren and the hard-crusted bangle-shaped kannonn. Limp, factory-produced, packaged sliced bread doesn’t really stand a chance in Goa. Not surprisingly, some of the state’s favourite snacks are paired with bread: choriz-pao (spicy Goan sausage), ras omlette pao (omlette and gravy), bhaji pao (vegetable gravy) are sold at seemingly every street corner.
Rich tradition
The festival's organisers have a rich tradition to mine. Western-style bread-making was introduced to Goa by the Portuguese colonisers five centuries ago, said historian Fatima da Silva Gracias. But they supplemented yeast, which is used to make dough rise in the West, with palm toddy or sur, which is what gives Goan pao its unique flavour. Jesuit missionaries quickly trained new Christian converts, especially those in South Goa, in the art of making bread, confectionery and wine.
Some food historians have suggested that the word “pao” originated from the fact that workers kneaded the dough with their feet. Another theory is that loaves were baked in batches of four, with each quarter sold as a “pao”. The explanation is simpler. “Pao” is the Portuguese word for bread. In Portuguese, a bakery is a padaria and bakers are padeiros, which is the origin of the Konkani word “poder”, said da Silva Gracias
Today, Goa has approximately 3,000 small-scale bakeries, many of which are family-run, home-based enterprises that have handed down their expertise through the generations. The humongous wood-fired clay ovens in the back room have rolled out pao for centuries, feeding the village in all kinds of weather.
Distribution is key to its success, writes Goan academician Nandakumar Kamat. Delivery boys cycle to every village ward, blaring their horns, sometimes thrice a day – at dawn, noon and dusk. The village of Succoro has eight competing bakeries, while Panjim has at least 30 poders servicing residents and restaurants.
However, like so many other traditional enterprises through the country, Goa’s poders face some uncertainty. “It's hard work,” said Bond Braganza, secretary of the All Goa Bakers Association, which is a partnering in the festival. He estimates that 30% of traditional bakers have leased out their family business to outsiders, as younger members have opted out of the profession.
Rising costs
Another hurdle is the close government control on prices. In 2012, bakers were not allowed to raise their prices on grounds that pao is the poor man's staple, even as the cost of flour has kept rising. A 30 gm-40 gm loaf of bread currently sells for Rs 3.
However, festival organiser Marius Fernandes is optimistic. He says that if poders are willing to innovate, they will be able to ride the boom in the catering, confectionery, and hotel industry. To encourage this process, he will launch a website to allow bakers to exchange notes and hopefully also address their health and safety issues.
For now, he hopes that the Poderanchem Fest will help more Goans understand how fortunate they are. “It's about laying claim to a tradition, many of whose elements are not seen anywhere else in the world,” Fernandes said. “Where else would you be woken up before the birds, by your baker?”
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The event was conceptualised by the Succorro village cultural association, but they have been swamped with help. “It's unbelievable,” said cultural activist Marius Fernandes, who runs other similar festivals on a low-cost, volunteer model. “Suddenly the whole of Goa is involved. There are 600 volunteers.”
Goa has more varieties of bread to celebrate than almost any other part of India. In almost every village, residents have a choice of beginning their day with pao (light brown crust, fluffy inside), the poyie (flat, bran pouches), the crustier undo, the four-cornered katren and the hard-crusted bangle-shaped kannonn. Limp, factory-produced, packaged sliced bread doesn’t really stand a chance in Goa. Not surprisingly, some of the state’s favourite snacks are paired with bread: choriz-pao (spicy Goan sausage), ras omlette pao (omlette and gravy), bhaji pao (vegetable gravy) are sold at seemingly every street corner.
Rich tradition
The festival's organisers have a rich tradition to mine. Western-style bread-making was introduced to Goa by the Portuguese colonisers five centuries ago, said historian Fatima da Silva Gracias. But they supplemented yeast, which is used to make dough rise in the West, with palm toddy or sur, which is what gives Goan pao its unique flavour. Jesuit missionaries quickly trained new Christian converts, especially those in South Goa, in the art of making bread, confectionery and wine.
Some food historians have suggested that the word “pao” originated from the fact that workers kneaded the dough with their feet. Another theory is that loaves were baked in batches of four, with each quarter sold as a “pao”. The explanation is simpler. “Pao” is the Portuguese word for bread. In Portuguese, a bakery is a padaria and bakers are padeiros, which is the origin of the Konkani word “poder”, said da Silva Gracias
Today, Goa has approximately 3,000 small-scale bakeries, many of which are family-run, home-based enterprises that have handed down their expertise through the generations. The humongous wood-fired clay ovens in the back room have rolled out pao for centuries, feeding the village in all kinds of weather.
Distribution is key to its success, writes Goan academician Nandakumar Kamat. Delivery boys cycle to every village ward, blaring their horns, sometimes thrice a day – at dawn, noon and dusk. The village of Succoro has eight competing bakeries, while Panjim has at least 30 poders servicing residents and restaurants.
However, like so many other traditional enterprises through the country, Goa’s poders face some uncertainty. “It's hard work,” said Bond Braganza, secretary of the All Goa Bakers Association, which is a partnering in the festival. He estimates that 30% of traditional bakers have leased out their family business to outsiders, as younger members have opted out of the profession.
Rising costs
Another hurdle is the close government control on prices. In 2012, bakers were not allowed to raise their prices on grounds that pao is the poor man's staple, even as the cost of flour has kept rising. A 30 gm-40 gm loaf of bread currently sells for Rs 3.
However, festival organiser Marius Fernandes is optimistic. He says that if poders are willing to innovate, they will be able to ride the boom in the catering, confectionery, and hotel industry. To encourage this process, he will launch a website to allow bakers to exchange notes and hopefully also address their health and safety issues.
For now, he hopes that the Poderanchem Fest will help more Goans understand how fortunate they are. “It's about laying claim to a tradition, many of whose elements are not seen anywhere else in the world,” Fernandes said. “Where else would you be woken up before the birds, by your baker?”