Roti Gambang (Spice Batavian Quick Bread)

I’ve made some breads I’ve not eaten again for years, and it’s called Roti Gambang. I liked (well I still do) this bread when I was a kid. Reminds me of my old days and brings my childhood memories back. Roti Gambang is a spice Batavian quick bread which is characterized by the richness of gula Jawa (dark palm sugar--make sure to use Indonesian dark palm sugar, because it's made of palm nectar, not of coconut like many other Asian sugar products), sesame seeds and cinnamon.

Batavia itself is the name of Jakarta, Indonesia (formerly Dutch East Indies, during the colonial period. Yes, from what I heard, the bread has existed since the Dutch colonial era, but back then it was made by leftover bread or cake which was re-processed by adding brown sugar syrup and salt before it was dried.

I’ve made 2 kinds of Roti Gambang. I adapted the recipe from Femina Online-Modified by Riana Pennylane which is re-modified by me J First, I simply followed the original recipe, and second I’ve made my own version with cheese filling. They taste just as delicious.

Ingredients: 

275g Javanese dark palm sugar

175ml water

375g all purpose flour

125g bread crumbs

25g milk powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks, loosely beaten

150g unsalted margarine if you want softer texture, use less for a rather dry one

3 tsp water, for brushing

3 tsp sesame seeds

50g shredded cheese

Instruction:

1.  Put sugar and water in a saucepan on medium heat, stir until dissolved and let it boil for a while until bubbly. Remove and let cool.

2.  Combine flour, bread crumbs, milk powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon powder. Pour in the sugar mixture. Add in egg yolks and vanilla essence. With a thick and strong wooden spoon, mix well until all the mixed dry ingredients hydrated. The mixture should be rather sticky.

3.  Add in margarine, mix well. Leave  and cover the mixture a rest for 30 minutes for easy handling.

4.  Preheat the oven to 150^o C.

5.  Line baking trays with baking paper.  Weigh mixture 60-75g each, roll into balls, oval shape or long fingers, and put them on the trays. For the bread with cheese filling: flat the dough, put 1 tsp of shredded cheese, and roll into oval shapes.

6.  Brush with water and top with sesame seeds.

7.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Bahan:
275 gr gula merah, sisir
175 ml air
375 gr tepung terigu protein sedang
125 gr tepung roti cokelat
25 gr susu bubuk
1/4 sdt garam
1 sdt soda kue
2 sdt baking powder
2 sdt kayu manis bubuk
1/4 sdt vanili bubuk
2 kuning telur ayam
150 gr margarin tawar
3 sdm air, untuk olesan
3 sdm biji wijen putih

50 gr keju parut

Cara membuat:

1.  Rebus gula merah bersama air hingga gula larut dan air mendidih. Angkat, dinginkan dan sisihkan.

2.   Campur tepung terigu, tepung roti, susu bubuk, garam, soda kue, baking powder, kayu manis, vanili, dan kuning telur, aduk rata. Tuang air gula, uleni hingga tercampur rata.

3.   Masukkan margarin, uleni kembali hingga rata. Tutup dengan plastik. Diamkan selama 30 menit di suhu ruang hingga adonan agak kering dan mudah dibentuk.

4.  Panaskan oven dengan suhu 150⁰ C

5.  Buka plastik. Timbang adonan seberat @60-75 g, gulung memanjang dan bentuk bulat lonjong. Untuk adonan dengan isian keju, pipihkan adonan, beri 1 sdt keju parut, gulung dan bentuk bulat lonjong. Atur adonan di atas loyang datary g dilapisi kertas roti atau bersemir margarin, beri jarak di antaranya.

6.  Olesi permukaan roti dengan air, taburi wijen.

7.  Panggang dalam oven selama 20-30 menit hingga matang. Angkat. Sajikan.