Oven-fresh memories: How Bengaluru's baking culture blends nostalgia with new-age flavours
BENGALURU: Baking in Bengaluru is More Than Business; It's A Language Of Memory And An Amalgamation Of Old-School Bakeries And New-Age Bakers
When I was a little girl growing up in Jayanagar in the 1980s, Sundays meant a trip to VB Bakery with my dad.
We'd pile into our chocolatecoloured Maruti 800 and cruise through the quiet lanes of old Bangalore, windows down, the morning breeze carrying hints of breakfast and bakery.
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As we neared the iconic shop in VV Puram, the warm scent of buns, puff, and sugar would wrap around us like an old friend. My favourites were always the vegetable puff, the soft bun and jam, their crunchy rusks and, of course, the honey cake. I'd clutch the paper packet like it held treasure.
It did.
Back then, bakeries weren't merely bakeries. They were woven into the fabric of daily life.
They marked celebration, comfort, and community. From the slow-paced 1980s to a 'jam'packed Bengaluru in 2025, I find myself looking back with fondness — not just as a customer, but also as a baker, a part of the city's evolving baking story.
Flour-powered evolution
Some of the city's oldest and mostbeloved bakeries have stood the test of time, quietly baking their way into the city's collective memory.
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From the century-old Albert Bakery in Frazer Town to the charming OG Variar & Sons in Rajajinagar, from VB Bakery in VV Puram to the iconic Fatima Bakery near Richmond Road and Thoms Bakery in Frazer Town, these institutions have served generations with unwavering consistency.
Alongside these landmark names, it's impossible not to acknowledge the sprawling network of Iyengar bakeries across the city — small, local, often nameless spots that deserve just as much recognition for shaping Bangalore's baking legacy with their soft buns, benne biscuits, and no-frills magic.
From family favourites to fancy fare
By the early 2000s, as the city grew into a global tech hub, its baking sensibilities evolved. Themed cakes, fondant figurines, cupcakes, and red velvet emerged -baking went from functional to fashionable. With this evolution, the home baker emerged, goodies baked with passion and the warmth of a home kitchen.
I, too, started my journey from a 'hobby' baker to a home baker around this time, at a time when adaptability to home-baked goodies was rather slow but on the rise.
The real spike of home bakers happened during the pandemic. gniking nne y h er asme m a ker h Locked indoors during Covid-19, thousands took to baking — some as therapy, others as a profession. What began as sharing bakes with friends became a full-fledged small business. . h l
Bengaluru's home bakers began turning out tres leches cakes, fudgy brownies, Basque cheesecakes, and vegan banana breads. Social media became our storefronts, and trust became our currency.
A baker among bakers
As a baker, I've found myself carrying the past and present in the same oven tray. I still crave that warm honey cake from VB, but I veg bec bec also love crafting olive oil chocolate cakes with sea salt or layering mousse with thandai and saffron.
What's remarkable is how this city allows both to exist. A customer might pick up a puff from the Iyengar bakery down the road — and later DM a home baker for a lemon poppyseed loaf.
Bengaluru doesn't replace the old to make space for the new.
It embraces both.
Coexisting, not competing
Many Iyengar bakeries still stand firm, proud of their heritage and happy to feed their regulars. Some have cautiously added new items — o c l t b and later D chocolate rolls, cream buns, marble cakes — to keep up with demand. At the same time, home bakers are scaling up. Some have cloud kitchens, others run boutique cafés. Many still prefer to stay small — focusing on authenticity, hygiene, and heart.
Yes, challenges exist — from sourcing ingredients to handling FSSAI regulations — but the joy of baking something that sparks nostalgia or delight keeps us all going.
A slice of the city's soul
As I think of those Sunday mornings with my father, or of the joy I now see on my customers' faces, I realise baking in Bengaluru is more than business. It's a language of memory. In a city racing ahead, our ovens remind us to slow down. To savour. To connect.
Here's to 41 years of The Times of India in Bengaluru — and to every bakery, from the bustling corner store to the quiet home kitchen, that has fed this city's heart and soul.
(The writer is the co-founder of Purple Hippie & QOQO Bae)
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