What if your Favourite Movie/Show Were a Type of Bread?

The other day we got talking with Jay Panchpor, the Carl Casper of Pune and founder of CrustWorthy Gourmet Breads. Jay is a mechanical engineer who graduated in 2019 and holds a keen interest in biomedical engineering and robotics.

After choosing the Georgia Institute of Technology (MS in Biomedical Engineering 2020) over Cornell, Purdue, and Carnegie Mellon, Jay took a leap of faith to follow his other passion - baking. Cut to two years later, with Jay running his own Gourmet bakery, introducing us to the delights of exotic and international breads.

Here he talks about his favorite shows and movies and enumerates the characteristics of bread that they represent and resemble the most.

1. Schitt’s Creek: Multi-grain bread

Multi-grain bread is composed of four grains - Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, and Whole Wheat. The multiple layers of flavour and along with that it being healthy is like a cherry on top!

The story of Schitt's Creek revolves around four characters, completely different from each other, and yet the show won’t be the same without either one of them. Johnny, Moira, David, and Alexis carry the entire show which just keeps on getting better, season after season. This is just like the four grains we use in the multigrain bread; it is incomplete without either.

The show is extremely calming and gives such homely vibes, like a delicious sandwich made in those typical household toasters. It is a wonderful comic display of how a calamity can bring a family together and how staying together is what ultimately helps you gracefully move on to the next phase of your life. The side characters like Roland, Patrick, and Stevie are like the sweeteners of the show; similar to the honey we use for the multigrain bread. It makes the bread even more nutritious and lifts the flavor completely!

2. Jojo Rabbit: Shokupan

Shokupan is the softest, lightest, and fluffiest buns you will ever taste! It’s like biting into a cloud.

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This is a beautiful movie about a lonely German boy living in Nazi Germany idolizing his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. I can especially relate the Shokupan to the way the relationship between Jojo and Elsa has been developed. It is the gentlest love there is. From practically being scared of her for being a Jew to falling in beautiful, innocent love with her, this Hitler fanatic’s journey is a testament to the brilliant direction and storytelling by Taika Waititi.

But by far the best part for me is the ending of this movie which crystallizes "the bite into the cloud" flavour. The silent dance, looking into each other’s eyes, knowing we are free and David Bowie’s Heroes in the background is one of the best scenes ever!

3. Spider-Man: No Way Home: Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is a savory Italian flatbread has a crunchy crust and a delicate, soft interior. It has a complex flavor because of the use of various aromatic spices and is a versatile bread that can be eaten by itself or complements any dish you may like like your favorite pastas and soups!

No Way Home is a celebration of the Spider-Man character and three generations of love the character has received. I would’ve never believed that this movie would even exist. It brings in so many well-developed characters, so many brilliant storylines and combines them beautifully just like the complex flavours imparted to the Focaccia by so many different aromatic herbs.

Each one has its own unique flavour profile and the result is bread with an incredibly sublime taste. Every single herb used completes this bread for me and the three Spider-Men are like the extra-virgin olive oil for the Focaccia. It is impossible to make the Focaccia taste so good without the most crucial ingredient. Similarly, this movie could never have been completed without a scene where the three Spider-Men are swinging together and the crowd just erupts in cheers.

4. Swades: Bhakri

There cannot be a bread that hits home more than the traditional Maharashtrian Bhakri. A bread so easy to make and make well, that even the humblest of cooks in the simplest of homes can prepare it.

Swades is a movie really close to my heart because of the image of India it portrays. It is just all out there. That’s how our country is, how our people survive. But it doesn’t ridicule any aspect, nor does it glorify. It’s all about reawakening the love and pride for your country at its truest self. India is beautiful and so is the food.

Bhakri always reminds me of that one meal Mohan has at Haridas’s house which changes his entire perspective about this nation. His life turns around and he finds a new purpose. He no longer finds peace in the comfort he has in the USA and wants to work for his country. This turning point is the most crucial and beautiful thing about this movie.

5. Avengers: Infinity War + Endgame: Sourdough

A bread that is extremely hard to master and making it is itself a journey on its own. Literally from preparing your own starter to catching it at the peak and making bread out of it is a time-consuming process but the more time you invest into it, the more the flavour deepens!

I cannot appreciate these movies enough. Not just for the incredible scenes every Marvel fan ever dreamed of, but for how well scripted these movies were as a culmination to the entire Infinity Saga. 10 years and 22 movies in the making. So many storylines intertwined, so many memories, it’s like an entire journey leading to these movies.

This reminds me of my journey with the Sourdough. Every attempt I made had something new and necessary to offer to reach my final stage. It is kind of similar to me. Every movie in the infinity saga had something to offer to make the final two movies so gloriously successful.

Whether it's character development, emotions, or even the way the MCU progressed through this saga, the journey was crucial. If I had gotten my sourdough right in the first attempt, it’d have been no fun at all. The fact that I learned along the way, got new results every time and they all contributed towards my first perfect sourdough was the most crucial thing about making this beautifully complex bread.

6. Interstellar: Kanelbulle

A sweet bread from Sweden which has flavors of cardamom-infused along with cinnamon! The best part about this bread is the novelty of this product. Literally, no one in India had heard of it but once they tasted it, they couldn’t stop having more! It’s all about introducing people to new things in the best way possible. Things just take their course after that!

Interstellar for me, is one of the most ambitious movies ever attempted. No person other than Christopher Nolan could’ve made it the masterpiece it is. The fact that something like this has never been tried before reminds me of my attempt at the Kanelbulle.

Kanelbulle is a Swedish cinnamon bun about which most people in India would have never have heard of. No one had any idea that such a thing even exists! and that was a sad fact to contend with. That’s the main reason why I decided to make this bread.

Interstellar tried to simplify extremely complicated concepts like wormholes, exoplanets, black holes, quantum mechanics, and multidimensional reality. The storytelling in this movie is brilliant along with CGI that serves as a tool for exposition. It makes complex astronomical terms something that you can use in everyday parlance.

I took a similar approach to prepare the Kanelbulle, to introduce people to a bread that could pique one's tastebuds and curiosity. The complexity of flavour and technique involved in this bread is at par with sourdough. The inclusion of cardamom, the shape of the traditional Swedish knot is something that is not easy to grasp. Yet, here is my attempt to help people understand this taste and texture which is completely new to their taste buds!

If you like the breads Jay has described, you can DM him on Instagram to have it delivered to your doorstep!

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