What Actually Makes Sourdough Different

Most bread sold in Chandigarh — in supermarkets, in restaurants, even in many bakeries — is made with commercial yeast and refined flour. It rises fast, looks fine, and tastes like nothing in particular. The crust gives in immediately. The crumb is soft in a way that feels designed rather than developed.

Real sourdough is made with a starter — a mix of wild yeast and naturally occurring bacteria cultivated over time. The dough ferments for a minimum of 8 to 12 hours, sometimes longer. During that time:

• The gluten structure becomes stronger and more digestible
• Phytic acid — which blocks mineral absorption — gets significantly reduced
• Natural organic acids develop, acting as a preservative (real sourdough lasts 3–5 days without going off)
• A depth of flavour develops that simply cannot be recreated by cutting corners

At Back to Source, this is not a marketing claim. It happens in the kitchen every day.

Chandigarh's Café Culture, Honestly Assessed

Chandigarh has more cafés and dine-in restaurants than at any point in the city's history. Many of them are genuinely good — nice interiors, decent coffee, competent menus. But the food most of them serve is built on the same foundation:

• Refined flour and commercial yeast
• Processed ingredients and stabilisers
• Premixes bought from distributors

The economics push in that direction. Back to Source chose the other direction — and it shows in what is on the plate and in who keeps coming back.

The Dine-In Experience at Sector 17A

The Sector 17A outlet is on the first floor of SCO 10-11-12, a short walk from the Taj. It is a calm, plant-filled space — the kind of place where a two-hour lunch does not feel like an imposition.

What to expect on the menu

• Sourdough sandwiches — made on bread baked that morning
• Cold coffee — sweetened with desi khaand, not refined sugar
• Vegan Buddha Bowl — filling, genuinely plant-based
• Organic biscuits and cookies — the same ones sold in the shop, so you can taste before you buy
• Kombucha — brewed in-house

No maida. No refined oil. No commercial preservatives. That constraint shapes the entire menu — and it is what makes it worth returning to.

Gluten-Free and Vegan — Actually Considered

Back to Source has built a proper gluten-free range, not an afterthought:

• Ragi biscuits
• Millet-based cookies
• Baked goods using alternative flours as a genuine ingredient choice

Vegan options include the Vegan Buddha Bowl and vegan cakes made on specific days — no eggs, no dairy, no compromise on ingredient standards.

The Mohali Outlet — Sector 66, Airport Road

The Sector 66 outlet at Jubilee Junction sits on Airport Road — a natural stop before a flight, or a go-to for the growing Mohali residential and corporate crowd. The full menu is available: sourdough, cold coffee, organic baked goods. There are not many cafés in Mohali where the bread was made from a live culture that morning.

Why the Small Things Are the Big Things

Every ingredient decision at Back to Source costs more, takes more time, and requires more skill than the alternative:

• Bilona ghee — not commercial butter
• Desi khaand — not refined sugar
• Cold-pressed oils — not refined vegetable oil
• Stone-ground flour — not maida
• Sourdough starter — not commercial yeast
• In-house kombucha — not a carbonated drink

These choices are invisible on the menu unless you know what you are looking at. But they are why a cookie from here tastes different. Why the cold coffee does not give you a sugar crash. Why people drive from Panchkula, Zirakpur, and Sector 35 when there is something closer to home.

The city's café scene has a lot of good-looking options. This one is built differently.

Visit Us

Sector 17A, Chandigarh

SCO 10-11-12, First Floor, Sector 17A — opposite Taj

Sector 66, Mohali (Airport Road)

SCO 1-2, First Floor, Jubilee Junction, Sector 66, SAS Nagar
Call: +91 90560 24801

Order online at back2source.in