Rotiboy, One of Our New-found Lo(a)ves

I've heard so many good things about rotiboy, but had never had one until my recent trip to Jakarta. As someone who's so crazy about coffee and butter, this bread is like a perfect marriage between them two. The strong coffee coat, soft and fluff bun, with the oozing salted butter in the center, is to die for. I've been trying to describe it without sounding like an intro of a porn video, but fail miserably. Hence, the lame description above. One thing for sure, it's still not better than sex.

After days of jet-lag, both Samu and I were craving for rotiboy. Unlike Jakarta (where you find rotiboy quite ubiquitous), we can't find any in Seattle. We can't just go to the counter, give the guy Rp 7,500 and grab the warm bag of rotiboy. That means we have to make it! So I went to google and found few recipes. This was the one I ended up using. The only change I made was using salted butter for the filling. The result is awesome, although I still think the real rotiboy is far superior than this version.

Elle ate one and a half in one sitting (mind you, she's a 16-month old little girl), and Samu ate two. I guess, they think it's better than storebought rotiboy.

Does anyone know why it's called rotiboy? Why not rotigirl? My theory is, because it's filled with oozing white, salty, buttery fluid.. But hey, that also applies to girl! Okay, sorry.

Once again, if you want to try the recipe, click here.

His Favorite Cinnamon Buns

Between March and April, we've been to IKEA for copious amount of time. With each visit, my 4-yr-old son would ask for their $1.25 cinnamon bun. He loves it so much, sometimes waking up, the first thing he asks is "did you make cinnamon bun today?" 

He loves helping me in the kitchen, but the only thing he helps me with from start to finish is cinnamon bun. When making other treats, halfway through, he'll announce that he's bored and would rather do something else. Eminently, when it comes to this puffy sweet bun, he waits for the dough to rise, even reminds me to check on it every 30 minutes. Roll the dough up with his tiny hands and tell me whether I cut them too thick or too thin. He wants to make sure it comes out perfect. While he prefers savory food, dark chocolate and anything-cinnamon-flavored top his favorite snack list.

The Power of Bread

You're having a bad day, things don't go the way you wanted them to. What do you eat to make you feel better? My son would want chocolate chips to fix his "owie". My husband would want a can of beer to cure his headache. I want bread with softened butter slather on top. I love carbs so much, I sometimes wonder how it'd taste to eat carbs on top of carbs on top of carbs (imagine, french bread topped with risotto, topped with fries. Gross? Maybe..)

At times, simple french baguette is enough to satisfy my bread cravings. But my favorite must be brioche. Buttery bread, eaten with some more butter? It sounds good to me. Of course too much of it makes me want to go for a nap. Leftover brioche is perfect for making french toast.  

Shitty day becomes better with a slice of brioche. The power of food is amazing, yes? Having to deal with annoying people? Eating brioche will not make them less annoying, but I think the butter helps me calm down. Brioche is my beer goggles. It makes me less profane too.  

Another day is saved, thanks to bread!

Chewy Whole Wheat Boule

If I went back in time and told my 15-year-old self that I'd be baking bread at least once every 2 weeks, she wouldn't believed me. After constant disappointment from buying grocery store bread, I'd rather bake it myself. While bread is ubiquitous, my longing for bread is so sudden, there's no time to go out and buy it. 

Men cannot live on bread alone. It's true to a certain degree, because it needs to be brushed with olive oil and kosher salt! Bread is so universal, you can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Depends on what you serve it with. Today for breakfast, I had a small wedge of this whole wheat bread dipped in black coffee. For lunch, I had it with a bit of softened brie and salad of chopped celery and carrot (quickie salad I called it). For dinner I might have it with the vegetable soup I made earlier today. After one day eating bread alone, I'll be craving for rice again tomorrow.