A century-old oven, a family legacy: The irresistible charm of Kilang Roti Mokhtar's firewood-baked buns

Malay Mail

13-05-2025

TANJUNG MALIM, May 13 — From afar, plumes of smoke can be seen rising from a chimney above the red zinc roof of a shophouse at Jalan Masjid Lama in Slim River here.
As one draws closer, a fragrant, mouth-watering aroma permeates the air, stirring hunger pangs.
People queue up outside the shop with one goal in mind — to grab its delicious buns and bread rolls before they sell out.
Kilang Roti Mokhtar's array of bread products is unlike any other — these are made traditionally and baked in an age-old brick oven fuelled by firewood and coconut shells.
Mokhtar Ahmad places bread into a red brick oven for baking. — Bernama pic
The buns' soft, sweet texture and subtle, smoky aroma of wood-fired baking keep customers coming back for more.
Hence, it is no surprise that the bakery has stood the test of time since it began operations in 1949, despite the competition posed by various bread brands that have entered the market over the years.
Now it is run by Mokhtar Ahmad Mohamad Taqi, 62, who inherited the bakery from his late father Mohammad Taqi Habib.
Mokhtar Ahmad has not only preserved the original recipe but also the baking techniques, including the use of a traditional oven.
'Perhaps this (use of traditional oven) is the secret behind why our bread products continue to be in high demand, even with competition from many other brands in the market,' he said when met by Bernama recently.
Century-old oven
Mokhtar Ahmad begins his day at the bakery early in the morning by preparing the dough, only then lighting the traditional oven.
The fire is allowed to blaze and turn to embers before the oven is ready for use.
Shedding light on the origins of the bakery, he said it was purchased by his late uncle — his father's older brother — Abdul Kadir Habib in 1949 after he migrated to Malaya from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, India, adding that his father took over the business after Abdul Kadir passed away.
The oven Mokhtar Ahmad uses to bake his delicious bread is the same one used by his uncle and father.
'I don't know the exact age of this oven,' he said, adding, 'According to the older generation, this bakery was initially operated by someone else who had been baking bread since around 1912. This oven was already here when my uncle bought the bakery.'
The father of seven said he has never made any modification to the oven, only repairing it when necessary.
Standing at 1.8 metres high and 4.5 metres wide, the oven can hold six to eight trays of buns, or about 400 buns, at any one time.
'It usually takes about 20 minutes for the buns to be perfectly done,' he said, explaining that traditionally baked bread products tend to be softer and more fragrant than those made in modern ovens.
Mokhtar Ahmad, who was 21 when he first started helping his father run the bakery, said he also avoids using preservatives, relying only on basic ingredients like wheat flour, margarine, sugar and yeast.
To make 450 buns, he uses one sack of flour, two kilogrammes (kg) of margarine, four kg sugar and 200 grammes of yeast.
The entire process of preparing and kneading the dough and baking takes at least six hours.
His wife Norhasimah Amir, 57, and two of his sons Muhammad Amar Haikal, 36, and Muhammad Adib Idzhar, 18, assist him with the bakery's operations.
Norhashimah Amir, 58, wife of Kilang Roti Mokhtar's owner, is seen packaging bread with her sons Muhamad Adib Idzhar, 18, (right) and Muhamad Amar Haikal Mokhtar, 36, (left) at the family-run bakery in Tanjung Malim. — Bernama pic
Only on request
Recalling the time when his father operated the business, Mokhtar Ahmad said at that time, the bakery produced only roti Benggali, also known as roti Babu, a type of white loaf sold mainly by Indian Muslim bread vendors in Malaysia.
'My father would ride his bicycle to nearby villages to sell the bread. There was one time when he was unwell and asked me to sell the bread instead but I didn't manage to sell a single loaf.
'I was confused... why didn't anyone buy the bread from me? When I got home, my father told me it was because I was cycling too fast and the villagers didn't even have a chance to call me over. It turned out he (father) would only push the bicycle, not ride it, whenever he went out to sell bread,' he said with a chuckle.
Currently, however, Kilang Roti Mokhtar only makes roti Benggali upon request as this bread requires a longer baking time.
The bakery focuses instead on producing buns with coconut, kaya (coconut jam), red bean paste and cream fillings.
It also makes sesame rolls, hard rolls and plain rolls.
Mokhtar Ahmad, posing with some examples of the bread sold at Kilang Roti Mokhtar, Tanjung Malim. — Bernama pic
The kaya, coconut and red bean buns are available at around 11am each day, followed by sesame rolls at around noon and cream buns, plain buns and hard rolls later.
On their prices, which range from RM1 for each bun with filling to RM7 for a pack of 10 hard rolls, Mokhtar Ahmad admitted that the rising cost of raw ingredients has forced him to increase prices slightly.
'In 2016, we could still sell our buns for 20 sen, 40 sen or RM1.40 depending on the type. Still, they remain affordable,' he said.
Kilang Roti Mokhtar also managed to survive the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
'At the time, demand was high, so I started taking orders and delivering the buns directly to customers,' he said.
Looking ahead, he said his sons (Muhammad Amar Haikal and Muhammad Adib Idzhar) have shown interest in continuing the family legacy.
'They are helping me run the business and I hope they will carry on our family tradition,' he said.
Kilang Roti Mokhtar operates daily except on Friday. — Bernama