RRI.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA - Roti kembang waru (hisbicus flower bread) is a culinary specialty of Kotagede, a legacy from the Islamic Mataram era. This bread has a profound philosophy related to its eight sides.

Basis Hargito, a roti kembang waru bread maker, has been running this business with his wife for 43 years since 1983. Basis explained that the eight sides of the roti kembang waru represent eight noble qualities. A leader who embodies these eight values is believed to be able to protect his people.

"Hasto Broto, hasto means eight, brata means nobility. Because this world contains eight essential elements, all living things need earth, fire, water, wind, the sun, moon, stars, and sky," said Basis.

During the Islamic Mataram Kingdom, roti kembang waru was always a favorite dish, served at every celebration or traditional event. It is unknown who invented this specialty snack, which is now quite popular in the Kotagede area.

This bread has a simple taste, typical of traditional cakes of the past. It's sweet with a fragrant aroma that comes from the combination of wheat flour, sugar, chicken eggs, and vanilla. All the ingredients are mixed into a dough, then poured into a buttered hibiscus flower-shaped mold before baking until done.

Basis and his wife are able to produce nearly 300 hibiscus flower breads daily. The bread is still made using traditional techniques, even the tools used are homemade.

"I still make bread traditionally, maintaining the same old methods. The tools and flavors are the same. We make the molds ourselves from tin or zinc. We still use the furnace from zinc. We cook it using charcoal; if kids nowadays use stoves, the quality would be different," he added.

When visiting Kotagede, you can stop by Basis's house in Purbayan, near Legi Market, to buy kembang waru bread. Priced at IDR 2,500 per piece, this bread can last 5-7 days without refrigeration, making it an ideal souvenir. (Misni Parjiati/Bambang MBKA)