Parma for Parmesan, Bagelen for Bagelen!

Oh, how I miss this event! Zorra hosts the World Bread Day annually and this year I just couldn’t afford to miss it again. I haven’t been making bread for quite some time, so this is about time to roll my sleeves and dig into the flour.

The Italians have biscotti, we Indonesians have Bagelen. A twice baked bread with extreme crispiness, you’ll find yourself covered in all crumbs after you finished one. Bagelen is simply a dinner roll cut in half, spread with lots of whipped butter and powdered sugar then baked again until very crisp and the sweet butter melted to a perfect shine. The trick is after you cut the roll in half, you have to let it stale overnight. A stale bread is dryer than the fresh one, this guarantees the crispiness of the Bagelen when baked again later the second time. Yes, you’re thinking someone in the past just couldn’t let any bread go wasted, hence this bread was created. I wondered where the name Bagelen came from, so I Googled it and discovered that we have an area in Purworejo, Central Java, named Bagelen! Seriously, never heard about it before! So this nibble was originated there and naturally came the name. Parmesan for Parma, Bagelen for Bagelen. Sweet.

Now, let’s bake. Here I used basic soft bread recipe and real butter for the spread. You can use any bread recipe you fancy, or just buy one, then whip up the spread. That simple. And that good.

Going Bananas!

 
Posted for NCC Banana Week
 
I really, really, really, enjoy making breads. It’s fun, it’s therapeutic, it’s satisfying. The simpler the better. This one is a very simple bread modified from very basic bread recipe, the one with only flour, water, yeast, a little sugar and salt. No eggs, no milk, no fat. You know you’re alright without all those.
 
What I like about this bread is that it is flavored with natural ingredients called the mighty banana and honey. No filling needed, the bananas turned into one whole bread boasting nice aroma and naturally sweet flavor, at the same time it adds moisture in your bread that makes you go mmm..
 
You can use any bread recipe you like. Matter of fact, I encourage you to use your favorite one instead of my simple version. Just substitute the liquid with banana puree and you’re good to go.
 

 

Sugarless Banana Bread & Gambang Bread Re-Visited

 
Hey! You! Yes, you! Thank you! Because it’s been a year since the last World Bread Day and you’re still around! You deserve a star for loyalty and dedication to bread. Just like Zorra. Yes, Zorra is again holding the World Bread Day (update: visit the roundup here) and I excitingly wanna take part of it, because she is a wonderful person and bread is just delish to begin with. I’m not just saying this because I want to bribe her to pass this post as qualified for the event *is it so obvious?*, but because I mean it, and I think all foodbloggers must always come together to take all the world and make a new peaceful food-oriented civilization. Who’s with me???
 
Ok, enough.
 

 
I wanted to re-visit the post of Roti Gambang I made last year, because… strangely, I suddenly have this urge to promote my country. It’s weird. First of all, I never knew that I have even a slightest hint of nationalism toward my country whatsoever. Yeah, go ahead judge me! I’m just being brutally honest. I never thought I have any. Second of all, I think it’s just cool to see the words “Gambang Bread” among the list of bread names from around the world compiled by the wonderful Zorra. Hey politicians, look, we put you on the map by baking bread!
 
Enough.
 
Gambang bread is an Indonesian traditional bread, made from bread scraps. Bakeries usually have lots of leftover fresh breadcrumbs, so they turned it into a delicious bread that can add to their sales. Yea, baby, we’re a pro in turning garbage into delicious food. That’s how we survived colonialism and Krakatau. This skill of turning crap into gold has made us one of the happiest nations in the world, no matter what had happened.
 
This is a chewy, cinnamony bread bar that looks pretty in its sesame seed dress. The homemade version recipe uses ready-made breadcrumbs you usually use for coating, because we certainly do not want to bake hundreds of bread loaves and collect the scraps. It’s very easy to make and certainly will color your afternoon happy. You know, along with a cup of hot tea and a good book in hand. It’s just the simple, yet perfect, comfort bread. Comfort bread indeed.
 
Gambang Bread recipe here.
 

 
Have I re-visited Gambang Bread, now onto the actual recent baking. This Sugarless Banana Bread is one of my favorites of all the breads of all time. You think your life is miserable without sugar? Well, after baking this, think again! Hell yeah, it’s sweet! It’s sweet, and fragrant, and very banana, and contains more fiber, more complex carbohydrate, and lower cholesterol… Okay, I’ll stop talking like a health-freak, and you stop throwing things on me!
 
One word: you must try this at home.
 
Ow yea, I sell this for one hundred fifty thousand rupiahs a loaf. Expensive? Think again.
 
Happy World Bread Day, everybody. What can we do without breads really? May Allah bless the inventor.