Northern Chinese Flatbread (Shao Bing) — Sesame and Layered Varieties

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 300 g plain flour
• 180 ml warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• For the oil paste (you su)
• 60 g plain flour
• 60 ml neutral oil, heated until smoking, then poured over flour and stirred immediately
• For finishing
• 1 egg, beaten, for wash
• 80 g white sesame seeds, raw, spread on a flat tray

Method

1. 1
   Combine the dough flour and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually, mixing until a shaggy mass forms. Knead on an unfloured surface for 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it springs back slowly when poked.
2. 2
   Make the oil paste: measure the flour into a heatproof bowl. Heat the oil in a small pan until it just begins to smoke. Pour the smoking oil over the flour at once and stir vigorously until a thick, smooth paste forms. Set aside to cool slightly. The paste should smell of toasted flour and be the consistency of thick porridge.
3. 3
   On a lightly floured surface, roll the rested dough into a large rectangle approximately 3 mm thick. Spread a thin, even layer of oil paste across the entire surface. Fold the dough in thirds — left third over centre, right third over that — then rotate 90 degrees and roll out again to 3 mm. Spread oil paste again. Repeat this fold-and-roll sequence a minimum of three times in total. This is where the dish lives or dies: under-laminated dough yields a dense, uniform crumb rather than the many thin, separable layers that define shao bing — each additional repetition compounds the pocket structure.
4. 4
   After the final fold, roll the dough into a log along its longer edge and cut into 8 equal pieces. Press each piece cut-side down and flatten with the palm into a disc approximately 1 cm thick. The cut face should already show visible spiral layers of pale dough and oil paste.
5. 5
   Brush the top surface of each disc generously with beaten egg wash. Press the egg-washed side firmly into the tray of sesame seeds so they adhere in a dense, even coating. Lift and press lightly once more to embed the seeds. The surface should be uniformly white with no bare patches; gaps in coverage will remain pale after baking.
6. 6
   Heat the oven to 250°C (or as high as the oven permits) with a heavy baking stone or inverted cast-iron pan on the lowest rack, preheating for at least 30 minutes. Place the shao bing sesame-side up directly on the hot stone. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the sesame crust is deep gold and fragrant, the underside is darkened and crisp from direct stone contact, and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.