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1
Combine the water-dough flour and salt. Add the warm water gradually and work to a smooth, pliable dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. The dough should feel soft and yield without tearing when stretched.
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2
Mix the oil-dough flour with the oil or lard until it comes together as a soft, cohesive paste. It should hold its shape when pressed but smear easily across the water dough — this is the laminating fat.
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3
Roll the water dough into a large rectangle. Spread the oil-dough paste evenly across the surface to within 1 cm of the edges. Roll tightly from one short end into a log, then fold the log on itself and roll out again to a rectangle. Repeat the fold and roll once more. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: insufficient lamination produces a dense, bread-like crumb rather than the shaobing's defining flaky layers.
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4
Divide the laminated dough into eight equal portions. Shape each portion into a flat oval or round roughly 1 cm thick, pressing the layers together at the edges to seal.
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5
Brush the top surface of each piece generously with the maltose solution or beaten egg. Press firmly, face down, into the tray of sesame seeds so that the seeds adhere densely and evenly. Turn and repeat on the underside if desired. Press the seeds again with the palm — they must not lift away when the piece is lifted.
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6
Heat the oven to 220 °C (conventional). Place the shaobing on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake until the sesame crust is deep golden and the surface is set and crisped. The underside should colour to a pale amber. The crust yields a clean, dry snap when tapped with a fingernail; a dull, hollow thud indicates under-baking, a hard knock indicates they have gone too far.