Breads Et More, GK1, Delhi: The Ooh La La Pâtisserie

Interiors

Breads et More, the age-old neighbourhood bakery at GK1’s trendy N Block market is now rejuvenated and relaunched as an all-new patisserie. I am here at the invitation of young Divij Lamba, the force behind the new avatar à la française. The interiors are made to resemble a bakery one would find in any city in Europe. I ask Divij what it is that the customers can expect from the new range of products. He says “we use the highest quality ingredients sourced from around the world. We import finest quality Belgium chocolate, French cream and butter all the way from Europe, and coffee from Ethiopia. We have a specially designed rustic stone oven to prepare artisan breads using traditional recipes which give it a hard crust and softer insides. So you should expect a new taste experience.”

Strawberry, Chocolate and Lemon Macaron

We start the taste experience with a sample of classic French macarons, which come in many quirky flavours. I decide to try the multicoloured strawberry, chocolate and lemon Macaron (Rs. 80 each).. The selection has pink macaron shells filled with a strawberry-chocolate ganache blend, brown Chocolate macaron shells filled with gooey chocolate ganache, and yellow macaron shells filled with a tangy lemon curd. It is very difficult to choose a favourite, since all of them are a treat. Napoleon (Rs. 125) is also known as the mille feuille, is an indulgent multi layered pastry filled with custard.

Plain Croissant

We then take a savoury interlude with croissants, which have long been a staple of French bakeries and pâtisseries dating back to the 13th century. The Plain Croissant (Rs. 65) is easily the best I have had in Delhi NCR. It is perfectly flaky crisp from the outside, and buttery and soft from the inside. The Gruyere croissant (Rs. 110) is an interesting variant. The spicy chicken galette (Rs. 175) is a flat round crusty cake with chicken cubes inside. The veg puff (Rs. 80) is a familiar taste though I wish the potato filling was spicier like the samosa. Balsamic onion pizza (Rs. 120) is a slice of focaccia bread, topped with onions cooked in balsamic vinegar sauce.

Tarte Au Citron

Back to the delightful sweets, Tarte Au Citron (Rs. 95) is a modern take on the tart, filled with lemon curd topped with Italian meringue, and makes for a refreshing citrusy bite. Rococo chocolate (Rs. 140) is a mousse like chocolate dessert made with creamy chocolate and crunchy praline, a must for chocoholics. Opera (Rs. 100) is an elaborate pastry with coffee and chocolate filling and icing; popularized by the French pâtisserie house Dalloyau. Banoffee cup (Rs. 200), a biscuit crumble topped with toffee sauce, bananas and fresh cream served in a take home cup is an indulgence that banoffee should be.

Breads & more has some wonderful treats in store. While I enjoyed each one of the sweet and savoury pieces I tasted, I would recommend the macarons, croissant and Tart au citron as must tries.