Byculla Baker Brings Chinese-Indonesian Heritage to Bombay Bread

A Chinese-Indonesian chef is reshaping Bombay's artisan bread scene from a converted warehouse in Byculla. Chef Shannen Alexandra, head baker at Mag St. Bread Co., draws on her heritage to rework the classic Chinese mantou into a distinctive bow-tie shape that sits apart from anything else on the city's bread circuit.

Mag St. Bread Co. operates out of Byculla's light-industrial belt, a neighbourhood better known for its old mills and wholesale markets than for sourdough and specialty loaves. Alexandra's approach, rooted in family tradition and adapted for a Bombay palate, signals a growing appetite for baking that carries a backstory beyond Europe.

Ekdum alag. In a city where artisan bread still skews heavily Western, her mantou-inspired buns are a quiet but pointed argument for what heritage baking can look like here.