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Soft, fluffy and gently toasted, pound ruti is a breakfast staple that feels like a warm hug on a sleepy morning. Whether it’s slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar, or turned into a hearty dim (egg) toast, this humble bread has a cult following in Kolkata. At a time when sourdoughs, multigrains and gluten-free options crowd bakery shelves, pound ruti — also called quarter bread — remains to hold a special space in everyone’s heart.
Baked through the night, delivered at dawn
Unlike the mass-produced milk or sandwich loaves, pound bread is still handmade in small, local bakeries across the city. These bakeries often begin their day when the rest of the city sleeps. By late evening, the ovens are fired up and the kneading begins. Dough is portioned by weight — a full pound or a quarter — shaped into rectangular loaves, and allowed to rise in rows.
Barua Bakery on Lenin Sarani, Ahmed Ali Bakery in Beckbagan, and New Abhoya Bakery in Howrah are just a few among dozens still keeping this tradition alive. By 4am the bread is baked and packed. Then comes the most charming part of the supply chain — the cyclewala. These men pedal through dawn streets, baskets filled with warm pound bread, delivering them to local mudi stores, roadside tea stalls and sweet shops.
Found at every corner, ready when you need it
You don’t have to go looking for pound bread in Kolkata. It’s right there when you need it. Missed breakfast while rushing to the office? Stop by a tea stall and order a toast with butter and pepper. Going for a weekend drive? Highway hotels and dhabas will serve it hot with ghugni or egg and it would hardly cost you Rs 20.
It’s this omnipresence that makes pound ruti feel like a part of the city’s fabric. It’s not glamorous, and nor is it meant to be. It’s reliable, affordable and comforting. Food writer and content creator Indrajit Lahiri, better known as Foodka, said, “That’s my standard lunch at least three days a week. I have it as dim toast with extra chilli. And I love it.”
A bread for all moods
The beauty of pound ruti lies in its versatility. The classic choice? A simple spread of salted butter, finished with either a pinch of sugar or cracked pepper. For something richer, there’s always malai toast — milk cream scraped fresh in the morning and spread thickly over toasted bread.
Then there’s the legendary dim toast. An egg cracked over the bread on a flat pan, cooked till it forms a golden crust on the outside, with soft bread in the centre — it’s protein, carbs and joy in one bite.
And for those who prefer their breakfast a little spicier, pound bread with ghugni is the perfect option. The bread soaks up the spicy, runny gravy of yellow peas, turning it into a hearty, flavourful treat. Tear, dip, eat, repeat.
The bread that built childhoods
For many Kolkatans, pound ruti is deeply tied to childhood memories. Sunday mornings began with a trip to the local para shop to buy freshly cut slices, still warm and fragrant. Some carried it to school as part of their tiffin, sometimes with potato curry, other times with a slice of cheese or jam.
At home, grandparents often turned pound bread into elaborate treats — fried with egg, dipped in sweet milk, or used as the base for simple sandwiches filled with mashed potato or leftover fish fry.
Even today, in homes across the city, many continue this tradition. “My son refuses to eat supermarket bread. He says it doesn’t taste the same. Every morning, I get a quarter pound from the local bakery, slice it and make his favourite butter-sugar toast,” said Moumita Ghosh, a resident of Behala.
Holding its ground in a changing city
Kolkata is changing. Cafés are everywhere, serving artisanal sourdoughs and croissants. Global bakery chains are taking over markets. But the humble pound ruti holds its place, quietly and stubbornly. It represents something more than food — it’s habit, heritage and home, all in one.
