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At a home in The Willows neighborhood of Menlo Park lives a sourdough starter named Albus. Created during a baking workshop at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Albus now plays an essential role in Vanya Weng’s home bakery.
Since March, Weng has been baking fresh sourdough loaves in all sorts of flavors and selling them to Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Atherton residents through her small business Kirana Bakehouse. Named after neighborhood grocery stores in India, Kirana Bakehouse specializes in made-to-order sourdough loaves with unique inclusions that change seasonally.
“When you order with me, you know that it’s being made for you specifically,” Weng said. “On demand it’s being made.”
Orders can be placed on the Kirana Bakehouse website and will arrive at your doorstep two to three days after ordering because each loaf goes through cold bulk fermentation for 24-30 hours.
“It’s very slow, but that’s what builds the flavor,” Weng said. “That’s also what helps keep it fresh for longer.”
For those who enjoy savory bakes, Weng makes a loaf packed with everything seasoning, another tinted green with basil pesto and even one with sharp cheddar and pickled jalapenos. Sweet variations include a pink-hued sourdough made from freeze-dried strawberries and white chocolate chips and even one with milk chocolate dispersed throughout. For AAPI Month, Weng offered variations with scallions and chili oil, black and white sesame seeds, and matcha mango.
Loaves are priced at $12-$16, and Menlo Park and Palo Alto college students get 25% off every loaf on all orders. If you have any specifications, such as a crispier crust, Weng is more than happy to customize. She recommends eating the bread within a week, or slicing it and freezing it for two to three months.
“(Bread-making) feels very calming and makes me pause,” Weng said. “A lot of bread baking is just waiting, and especially when there’s so much quick dopamine hits these days, I think I really want to be intentional about how I’m spending that time and taking things slow.”
While flavor pairings are up to personal preference, Weng suggests trying the house white sourdough with avocado toast, eggs or tinned fish. The cheddar and cheddar and jalapeno varieties go well with butter, and the pesto loaf is nice with soft cheese, honey or sun-dried tomatoes, she said. For a not-to-sweet dessert, try the strawberry and white chocolate with creme fraiche and fresh fruit.
The idea for Kirana Bakeshop began when Weng went on a one-month sabbatical in France. A software engineer for a decade, she felt burnt out and decided to immerse herself in arts and baking, attending an oil painting workshop in Florence and a baking workshop in Paris.
“It’s so easy to get sucked into the Silicon Valley bubble,” she said. “Especially with the advent of AI and all these other things, we’re becoming more and more disconnected. Having a way of still being able to build real community, not just what we have online, started feeling more important to me.”
So she started baking bread, using the sourdough starter she created in Paris, and delivering it to her neighbors. Not only did Weng get to practice her bread-making skills, she ended up forming strong ties with her neighbors. During a dinner at one of her neighbor’s houses, her neighbor mentioned that Weng’s bread delivery was the highlight of the family’s week, and Weng realized she could start a business that had the potential to connect people and build community.
“Whether it’s a community within the house, whether it’s community within a neighborhood or between friends, I would love this to be a part of that, or somehow the reason for people to come together,” she said.
In the future, Weng hopes she can use Kirana as an umbrella brand, with the bakeshop being just one facet of many. But for now, she’s just enjoying being off a screen and working by hand.
Kirana Bakehouse, Instagram: @kiranabakehouse.
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