Recipes

Shaobing (Sesame Flatbread)

Breads · Chinese · Flatbreads · Vegan

Shaobing (Sesame Flatbread)
Prep 1 hr 15 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 12
Level Medium

Northern Chinese baked sesame flatbreads: a soft yeasted dough rolled out with a toasted sesame-oil paste, rolled up, cut, folded and pressed into sesame seeds, then baked until golden and layered inside.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Flatbreads section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
  • ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon warm water (90 °F / 32 °C)
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Oil paste

  • 6 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Coating

  • 10 tablespoons white sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Dough. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and leave 15 minutes. Mix into the flour and salt to a soft dough and knead briefly. Halve, ball, cover and rest 30 minutes.
  2. Oil paste. Heat the sesame oil in a small skillet over medium. Stir in the flour and salt and cook until slightly darker and fragrant. Let cool.
  3. Heat the oven to 430 °F (220 °C) for at least 20 minutes.
  4. Layer. Roll one dough ball to about 9 × 16 inches. Spread half the paste over it, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll into a log and pinch the seam. Cut into 6 pieces. Flatten each slightly, roll into an oval, and fold the top third down and the bottom third up. Repeat with the other ball. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
  5. Coat. Mix the sesame seeds. Press the smooth side of each piece into the seeds and shape into a round, square or oval.
  6. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 8–12 minutes, until golden.

Notes

Source Adapted from “Shaobing,” 196 flavors. Cross-checked against Elaine’s “Shaobing” at China Sichuan Food, which fills the layers with sesame paste and ground toasted Sichuan pepper, brushes the tops with light soy sauce before the seeds, and either bakes at 180 °C for 15–20 minutes or pan-fries over medium then low heat.

The name In Han China bing meant any food of wheat dough. Shao means to bake or roast.

The Flatbreads section of the Breads pages on the Food site covers the history, the science and the griddles.