When we started, artisan-style bread was still not something people commonly looked for in Banyuwangi. Most of what we knew was supplied to hotels, villas, or limited retail spaces—not something people casually picked up from a bakery.

Our bread story at Kunci Kuppi has taken time, with plenty of learning along the way. We were also learning what people here enjoyed, what felt unfamiliar, and how far we could introduce something different without losing the character of the bread itself.

When we first introduced focaccia at Kunci Kuppi Cafe & Bakehouse, the response was still very mixed. Many customers were curious, while others were still adapting to its texture and character.

For some, the crust was unfamiliar. For others, it was the chew, the olive oil, or simply the fact that it was very different from the softer breads they were used to.

That first version showed us that making the bread was only half of the work. We still had to understand what kind of focaccia we actually wanted to make.

So we kept working on the texture, flavour, fillings, and overall balance, slowly shaping it into something that felt more like Kunci Kuppi without losing the character that made focaccia interesting to us in the first place.

That process became part of how we approached bread at Kunci Kuppi.

We never wanted to take something from somewhere else and simply place it on our counter.

Instead, we try to understand what makes each bread interesting in the first place, then work through it in our own way—with the ingredients available to us, our fermentation, our equipment, our climate, and ultimately our own taste.

The goal was never to make the bread more familiar just for the sake of familiarity. We wanted it to feel natural at Kunci Kuppi while still keeping the character that made us curious about it in the first place.

Along the way, we were lucky to meet guests who had grown up with these breads themselves. One of them was born in the hometown of focaccia. After trying ours, she simply told us, “add oregano.”

Such a small comment, but we remembered it.

Not because we wanted to turn every suggestion into a recipe change, but because sometimes one small detail can help you understand a bread from a completely different point of view.

Those conversations became part of how we kept learning, together with our own trials, mistakes, and countless batches in the kitchen.

Our Bread Journey at Kunci Kuppi

Focaccia

Focaccia may have been one of the earlier breads that shaped our journey, but it certainly did not stop there.

After focaccia, we started asking what else we could learn. That led us to sourdough, bagels, shokupan, and salt bread.

From naturally fermented sourdough and Korean-style bagels to soft shokupan and buttery salt bread, every bread has gone through its own testing and small adjustments.

Because for us, developing bread is never simply about following a recipe.

It is about understanding the texture we want, the flavours people enjoy here, and how the bread will actually be eaten.

Today, Kunci Kuppi offers a growing selection of artisan-style bread in Banyuwangi — each shaped by that same journey of experimentation, learning, and our own interpretation.

After focaccia came another bread that became important to our story: RoKu.

At the time, Roti Macan was one of the breads we kept seeing and hearing about. The version we knew was usually lighter in colour, with its familiar patterned surface and soft texture.

We liked the idea behind it, but we did not want to simply reproduce the same bread.

So we started changing it in our own way.

Our first version became RoKu Cranberry Cheese. We adjusted the colour, worked on the dough and filling, and paired cranberry with cheese to give it a character that felt more like Kunci Kuppi.

That version eventually became one of the breads people knew us for.

And once RoKu had found its place, we kept exploring it.

Later came our own RoKu Choco Cheese, taking the same idea in a different direction while keeping the identity we had started building around the bread.

RoKu became an important point in our bread journey because it taught us something simple: inspiration can start somewhere familiar, but the real work begins when we keep asking how to make it our own.

From there, our curiosity moved again.

We started exploring breads with completely different textures, fermentation, and techniques.

That led us deeper into sourdough, bagels, shokupan, salt bread, and the other breads that followed.

Sourdough

Sourdough is one of the breads that many guests specifically look for when searching for artisan bread in Banyuwangi.

But honestly, sourdough was also one of the most challenging breads for us to develop.

When we first became interested in sourdough, one of our biggest questions was simple:

Would people in Banyuwangi actually enjoy this kind of bread?

At that time, naturally fermented sourdough—with its stronger acidity, rustic crust, and distinct texture—was still unfamiliar to many local customers.

Because of that, we decided not to rely only on trial and error.

Instead, we traveled to Solo, Central Java, to learn directly from someone with more experience in artisan bread and sourdough baking

. That experience gave us a much deeper understanding of fermentation, dough behavior, texture development, and the many small details behind making good sourdough.-

But learning the traditional approach was only the beginning.

When we returned to Banyuwangi, the real journey started.

Back in Banyuwangi, we started testing what we had learned against our own ingredients, equipment, weather, and customers.

After many rounds of experimentation, we gradually adjusted our own approach — refining fermentation balance, softening the sourness slightly, and modifying parts of the baking process to achieve the texture we were looking for.

The result is a sourdough with the fermentation and character we wanted, but a texture and acidity that feel easier to enjoy every day.

Something you can enjoy with butter, breakfast, sandwiches, or simply alongside a good cup of coffee.

Looking back, we feel grateful for that journey.

What once started as a question — would people here actually enjoy sourdough? — eventually became one of the clearest answers for us.

People did not need a lecture about sourdough. They needed a good first bite. So we started serving it in ways that felt familiar—breakfast, sandwiches, eggs, and dishes with sauces people already enjoyed.

If you are curious where to begin, many guests start with some of our sourdough favorites — from Rengganis and Kunci Breakfast, our best-selling take on a comforting sourdough sandwich, to Turkish Eggs with sourdough bread, sourdough paired with our housemade tomato dipping sauce, sourdough corned beef, meatball marinara on sourdough, and other evolving creations from our kitchen.

The idea was simple: create dishes where the bread itself still offers a new experience, but the overall flavors feel welcoming and enjoyable.

Today, sourdough has become one of the breads many of our customers genuinely love, and over time, it has grown into one of the best-selling items at Kuncikuppi.

For us, that is a reminder that sometimes something unfamiliar does not need to be changed completely — it simply needs the right bridge for people to discover and enjoy it.

Bagels

Our journey then continued to bagels — another bread that taught us a lot.

Bagels bring a completely different experience compared to regular bread.

Known for their signature chewy texture and satisfying bite, traditional bagels can feel very different from the kinds of bread many of us grew up with in Indonesia, where softer breads have long been more familiar and widely enjoyed.

Because of that, when we first introduced classic-style bagels at Kunci kuppi, the response was honestly quite challenging.

Some customers were curious, but many also told us the texture felt too chewy or unfamiliar for their preference.

And to be honest, we understood that.

A bagel can be made correctly and still not be enjoyable for everyone. We had to understand that difference.

Because of that, we postponed and revisited our bagel development several times instead of forcing the first version.

As part of that journey, we also visited Malang to experience one of the locally loved bagel concepts there, to better understand how a product like bagels could become enjoyable for a wider audience while still keeping its identity.

That experience, combined with our own experimentation, helped us slowly figure out our own approach.

We did not want to make a soft bread and call it a bagel. The chew still mattered. We were simply trying to make the first bite less surprising for people who grew up with softer breads.

One of the fun things we discovered is that the texture itself continues to evolve after serving.

If you enjoy our bagel within the first 1–3 minutes, you may notice a softer bite, a lightly crisp exterior, and a gentler chew.

If you wait a little longer — around 10 minutes or so — the chew becomes more pronounced, closer to the texture some dedicated bagel lovers specifically enjoy.

Interestingly, some of our customers discovered this on their own and shared their preferences with us. Some love enjoying it immediately while it feels softer and crispier, while others intentionally wait because they prefer that deeper chew.

For some visitors, this even becomes their first introduction to bagels in Banyuwangi.

And honestly, we love being part of that little discovery.

Salt Bread

Salt bread looks simple, and perhaps that is exactly what makes it so difficult to get right.

Inspired by the salt breads commonly found across Japanese and Korean bakeries, the idea seems straightforward: a soft bread, buttery aroma, a slightly savory finish, and a texture that feels light but still satisfying.

Getting there, however, took us quite a while.

We experimented with different butters — from Elle & Vire, Golden Churn, Anchor, and several others — trying to understand how each one changed the aroma, richness, melting point, and final texture of the bread.

The dough itself went through just as many revisions.

We adjusted the recipe several times, experimented with milk powder, and even roasted it to bring out a deeper dairy character.

That process taught us that Salt Bread is not really about adding more ingredients.

It is about getting a few simple things to work together properly.

Soft inside, lightly crisp around the bottom, buttery without becoming heavy, with just enough salt to make you want another bite.

Our Chocolate Salt Bread uses specialty chocolate from Adore Cacao, made with fermented and sun-dried cacao from Sulawesi.

The chocolate brings a deeper, more complex character than simply adding sweetness — giving the buttery and slightly salty bread another layer of aroma and flavor.

What looks like one of the simplest breads on our counter ended up becoming one of those recipes we kept returning to, adjusting little things again and again.

Eventually, it stopped tasting like a reference and started tasting like our version of Salt Bread.

Shokupan — Full Sourdough

Our Shokupan is made with full sourdough fermentation.

That sounds like a small detail, but for us it became one of the most challenging parts of developing this bread.

We had wanted to make shokupan for quite some time, but there was one thing we did not want to compromise: ours had to be full sourdough. Keeping it soft without commercial yeast meant paying close attention to fermentation time, dough strength, hydration, richness, and how far we could push softness without losing structure.

There were many adjustments along the way.

Too much fermentation and the dough could lose strength. Too little and we would not get the lightness we were looking for. The challenge was finding that balance where sourdough could still give us a beautifully soft crumb without making the bread feel dense or overly rustic.

The result is our own interpretation of Shokupan: naturally fermented, soft and fluffy, with a little more depth in flavor from the sourdough.

We use it for toast, sandwiches, and several of our menus at Kunci Kuppi, but it is just as enjoyable simply warmed on its own.

For us, this bread became another reminder that sourdough does not always have to be crusty, chewy, or rustic.

Sometimes, it can be incredibly soft too.

Bánh Mì - Vietnamese Baguette

Our curiosity about Bánh Mì started in Ho Chi Minh City.

What stayed with us was not only the filling. It was the bread—light, crisp, airy, and strong enough to carry everything without feeling heavy.

It was one of those simple food experiences that stayed in our mind long after the trip.

Back in Banyuwangi, we started exploring our own version.

The challenge was getting the bread right. We wanted that thin crisp crust, a light interior, and enough structure to hold everything inside without becoming too dense or too chewy.

From there, we kept adjusting the dough, fermentation, baking, and the balance of the fillings.

We never wanted to simply copy what we had in Vietnam. Instead, we took the experience that inspired us there and slowly translated it into something that felt natural to serve at Kunci Kuppi.

Interestingly, the same Bánh Mì dough later became the base for another menu we developed: our Bread Bowl.

With a slightly different shape and application, the bread took on a completely different role — sturdy enough to hold the filling, while still keeping the lightness we liked from the original dough.

It also became one of the menus that guests really enjoyed for quite some time.

For us, that is one of the most enjoyable parts of developing bread.

One dough can lead to another idea, another menu, and eventually another memory.

And that is how Bánh Mì became more than just one bread in our kitchen — it became another starting point in our journey through food.

Bread, Coffee, and Kunci Kuppi

A lot of the things we make here started from something quite simple.

We tasted something somewhere, became curious about it, and then kept thinking about it after coming home.

Sometimes it turns into a menu. Sometimes it takes months of trials. Sometimes it disappears and comes back again later.

That is probably how bread became such a big part of Kunci Kuppi.

From focaccia, shokupan, salt bread, sourdough, to whatever catches our attention next.

We are still learning.

And for now, we are quite happy to keep doing that here in Banyuwangi.

Looking for Artisan Bread in Banyuwangi?

If you are looking for handmade bread in Banyuwangi, Kunci Kuppi Cafe & Bakehouse makes a rotating selection of sourdough, bagels, focaccia, salt bread, shokupan, and other breads we continue to develop along the way.

Some stay for a long time. Some change with the season. And sometimes, a new bread simply starts from something we tasted, became curious about, and wanted to understand better.

FAQ

Where can I find artisan bread in Banyuwangi?

You can find a selection of handmade bread at Kunci Kuppi Cafe & Bakehouse in Banyuwangi, including sourdough, bagels, focaccia, salt bread, shokupan, and other breads depending on what we are making at the time.

Does Kunci Kuppi make sourdough?

Yes. Sourdough has been an important part of how we make bread at Kunci Kuppi. We naturally ferment our dough and work toward the balance of flavor, acidity, texture, and crust that we enjoy eating ourselves.

What makes Kunci Kuppi bread different?

We do not try to reproduce every bread exactly as it is made somewhere else.

We start by understanding what makes that bread interesting, then work with our own ingredients, equipment, fermentation, climate, and taste here in Banyuwangi until it becomes something we are comfortable serving at Kunci Kuppi.

Is Kunci Kuppi only a bakery?

No. Kunci Kuppi is a cafe and bakehouse.

Alongside our breads and bakery items, we serve coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, and other dishes that often begin with the bread we make ourselves.

Does Kunci Kuppi make bagels?

Yes. We make our own bagels at Kunci Kuppi as part of our rotating bread selection. Availability may change depending on production and the menu.

Is Kunci Kuppi suitable for travelers visiting Banyuwangi?

Yes. We are located a little outside the busy part of Banyuwangi, on the way toward the Ijen area.

Many guests stop by for breakfast, coffee, and fresh bread before continuing their day or journey around Banyuwangi.