Roti bakar

Roti bakar

A plate of roti bakar, with butter on the left slice, peanut butter and kaya on the right slice.
Alternative names	Roti kahwin[1]
Type	Toast
Region or state	Maritime Southeast Asia
Cookbook: Roti bakar

Roti bakar (lit. "burnt bread") refers to toast, usually prepared with grilled white bread, in both the Indonesian and Malay languages. The dish is a popular breakfast food as well as tea time snack in countries like Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Historically, roti bakar was grilled or toasted by using charcoal as a heat source in many communities throughout the region, though this practice has dwindled with the advent of modern technology.^[1]

Common spreads for roti bakar include sugar, margarine, butter, peanut butter, and kaya.

Variants[]

Indonesia[]

Modern variant of Indonesian roti bakar

In Indonesia, roti bakar is usually prepared as a sandwich of grilled white bread with a filling, consumed both as a light breakfast and a common street food. Roti bakar was developed during the era of Dutch colonial rule as a practical way to consume day-old bread; it was typically served with butter, condensed milk, or Dutch cheeses.^[2] After Indonesian independence, roti bakar became ubiquitous throughout Indonesia, as consumption of toast became a matter of taste for its people as opposed to the practicality of avoiding the wastage of stale bread.^[2]

Many flavor variants have been developed for modern tastes, such as hagelslag, crushed Oreo biscuits, or chocolate syrup.^[2]

Malaysia[]

In Malaysia, kaya and cold butter are a popular combination to spread on roti bakar.^[3] The city of Ipoh in Perak is known for its kopitiam establishments, where roti bakar accompanied with local tea or coffee beverages and a serving of half boiled eggs is a staple order during morning or afternoon tea.^[4][5]

A variation on roti bakar is roti titab, a thick warm toast with kaya spread onto all four corners and topped with a half-boiled egg.^[6]

See also[]

• Kaya toast

References[]