Dacca Delights : On cloud nine, courtesy of a cloud kitchen
By ditching display shelves and baking strictly to order, a niche cloud bakery in North Kafrul is quietly redefining Dhaka’s artisan bread and pastry scene
The delivery arrived just before the afternoon rain. A large bag of cardboard boxes landed on my dining table, filling the room with the scent of baked butter, toasted flour, and warm pastry.
As coffee brewed in the kitchen, the sky outside turned a familiar monsoon grey — the kind of weather that somehow makes baked goods taste even better.
Zahidur Rahman launched his cloud bakery, Dacca Delights, in late 2024. Operating out of a professional kitchen in North Kafrul, the small-batch operation has quietly built a following among locals chasing hard-to-find artisan breads and authentic pastries.
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By baking strictly to order instead of running a traditional storefront, the team ensures everything arrives fresh from the oven rather than stale from a display case.
To hear the story behind the venture, I sat down with Zahid — after sampling the goods, of course.
"From the start, I resisted the urge to open just another live bakery. When we were planning to go into business in late 2024, live bakeries were popping up in every Dhaka neighbourhood," Zahid recalled. "We knew the market would eventually saturate."
Instead of joining the crowd, Zahid and his partners catered to a niche audience looking for authentic global baking. That decision shaped their entire philosophy. Their head baker constantly experiments with regional recipes. Before any new item reaches the public, the team seeks out a native of that product's country of origin for a gut-check.
"If we bake a French loaf or a Portuguese pastry, we try to get someone from that country to taste it," Zahid said. "Their feedback tells us whether we've actually hit the authentic flavour profile or missed the mark."
When developing their alfajores — the classic Latin American sandwich cookies — they brought in a Latin American customer for a preliminary taste test. Italian expats similarly helped fine-tune their ciabatta and focaccia.
Chicken Pita Sandwich
The pita sandwich looked deceptively simple: soft pita bread wrapped around grilled chicken, crisp lettuce, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers, brought together by Dacca Delights' in-house Thousand Island sauce.
The vegetables kept their crunch, the chicken stayed moist, and the sauce added creaminess without overpowering the bread.
It felt clean, hearty and thoroughly delicious — the kind of thing you'd happily order for lunch rather than an indulgent cheat meal, much to my gym trainer's delight.
Price: Tk380
Classic Butter Croissant
Croissants reveal whether a bakery truly understands lamination, and Dacca Delights' version ticks most of the right boxes. The exterior developed a deep golden crust while the inside stayed airy, honeycombed and buttery rather than dense.
Made with little more than flour, butter, yeast and sugar, it lets technique rather than sweetness take centre stage.
It paired beautifully with black coffee.
Price: Tk180
Pastéis de Nata
Portugal's famous custard tart has grown popular worldwide, yet remains surprisingly uncommon in Bangladesh.
Dacca Delights' version features crisp puff pastry supporting a silky egg custard scented with vanilla. The filling strikes a pleasant balance — rich without becoming cloying.
Served slightly warm alongside coffee, it was probably my favourite dessert of the afternoon.
Price: Tk150
Om Ali
Egypt's celebrated bread pudding is unapologetically indulgent. Layers of croissant and puff pastry soak in milk and cream before being topped with almonds, pistachios, cashews and raisins. Served warm, the dessert is creamy, nutty and deeply comforting.
Not something to eat every day — nor should it be — but as an occasional weekend treat, it delivers.
Price: Tk400
Brookie
Half brownie, half cookie. The brookie combines dark chocolate, butter and eggs into something chewy at the edges and fudgy in the centre.
Price: Tk130
Premium Multigrain Bread
Good bread often gets less attention than pastries, yet this loaf deserves mention. Made with wholewheat flour and a premium brown bread premix, it delivers a pleasantly hearty crumb without becoming overly dense.
Toasted the next morning with a little butter, it stayed soft inside while developing an excellent crust. It's easy to imagine this becoming a weekly staple for households trying to move beyond packaged bread — I made sandwiches with it the following day, and it was still just as good.
Price: Tk450
Black Pepper Baguette
Possibly one of Dacca Delights' signature products. The loaf develops a crisp crust while keeping a light interior, with black pepper lending gentle warmth rather than overwhelming spice. It works equally well alongside soup or cheese, or simply dipped in olive oil — which is exactly how I had mine.
Price: Tk350
Bagels
We sampled several varieties:
- White Sesame Bagel — Tk80
- Black Sesame Bagel — Tk95
- Hot Honey Bagel — Tk100
- Garlic Herb Bagel — Tk120
- Chilli Garlic Bagel — Tk120
- Za'atar Bagel — Tk150
Each retained the dense, chewy texture expected of a proper bagel, rather than resembling an ordinary bread roll. The garlic herb was the standout — its savoury aroma made it hard to stop at one. The hot honey struck a nice balance between sweetness and gentle heat, while the za'atar introduced earthy Middle Eastern flavours still relatively uncommon in Dhaka's bakeries.
What impressed me most wasn't any single pastry, but the philosophy behind them. Zahid explained that the bakery deliberately avoids mass production—orders dictate the daily bake, minimising waste while guaranteeing freshness.
"We don't bake for the shelves," he said. "We bake for orders. And we're fully customisable."
That approach also lets the bakery maintain a remarkably broad menu. Beyond what we sampled, Dacca Delights offers artisan sourdoughs, focaccia, ciabatta, brioche, sandwich breads, desserts, tarts, burritos and specialty bagels inspired by European and Middle Eastern baking traditions.
Cloud kitchens often struggle to build an emotional connection with diners, stripped of cosy interiors or welcoming staff. I realised the afternoon had never been about where the food was made. It was about the rain, two mugs of coffee, a table buried in flaky crumbs, and the discovery that great bread doesn't need a storefront. It just needs people who care enough to get it right.
