The outer crust is crispy and crunchy, with the flavors of spices and sesame paste perfectly blended together.
If there is a stall on a street that makes exceptionally delicious sesame flatbreads, it is only expected that people will line up from morning to night every day. A homemade honeycomb briquette stove holds a thick iron plate on top, where the flatbreads are initially cooked until both sides turn golden brown. Then, the lower oven drawer is pulled out, the flatbreads are placed inside, and they bake for seven to eight minutes. When the flatbreads puff up as if about to burst, they are done. A pair of tongs scoops out a few and tosses them into a straw basket with a crisp clatter! Sesame flatbreads are best enjoyed half a minute after they come out of the oven. With one bite, the outer sesame-crusted layer is incredibly crispy, while the inside is exceptionally soft, carrying the subtle fragrance of cumin and Sichuan peppercorns—how could anyone stop eating!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
300 g (about 2 1/2 cups) cake flour
200 g (about 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) warm water at 37°C (98°F)
2 g yeast
All-purpose flour works best for this recipe.
Sesame paste seasoning
50 g (about 1/4 cup) sesame paste
soy sauce 15 g (about 1 tablespoon)
salt to taste
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) oil
Ground cumin and Sichuan peppercorn powder - to taste
Both spices should be included. If convenient, add a pinch of star anise powder for a unique flavor. You can make the spice powder yourself by blending fennel powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and star anise powder in a 1:1:0.5 ratio—no need to toast the spices first, just grind them directly in a blender.
Other Seasonings
to taste
Instructions
Instructions
Knead the dough
Step 1: Mix the yeast and cake flour together until evenly combined, then gradually add warm water to form a flaky dough (Image 2). Knead until smooth, cover with a damp cloth, and let rest for 1 hour before using (Image 3).
*It can be difficult to get the dough smooth on the first try; knead it briefly, then cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes before kneading again—it will become smooth and supple.
*The water used for kneading the dough should be slightly more than usual, resulting in a very soft dough; if the dough is too stiff, the baked sesame flatbreads will turn out hard and dense.
*Adding a small amount of yeast gives the dough a slight rise, making it softer and easier to work with, but be sure not to let it fully proof before baking, otherwise the sesame flatbreads will turn out too fluffy and soft.
Stir the sesame paste with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil until smooth, then add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of five-spice powder, mixing well.
Step 2: Place the sesame paste in a bowl, first stir in the soy sauce and a pinch of salt until smooth (Image 4), then add the oil and mix again, and finally sprinkle in some ground fennel and Sichuan pepper (Image 5), stirring to combine; set aside (Image 6).
*When preparing the sesame paste, follow the steps in order without skipping or mixing them up.
*Make sure to add enough salt—if it's not salty enough, the flavor will be noticeably lacking.
Shape the dough into a round disc, then roll it out into a thin sheet.
On a smooth work surface lightly greased with oil, roll out the rested dough into a slightly thick sheet, then evenly spread the prepared sesame paste over it (Image 7).
*The dough should not be rolled too thin, because after adding the sesame paste and forming it into a ball, it needs to be rolled out again. If rolled too thin initially, it will easily tear when rolled later, causing the sesame paste to leak out.
*If you prefer a stronger flavor, you can sprinkle some spice powder on after spreading the sesame paste.
Step 4: Roll the dough sheet into a log (Image 8), then divide it into 6 equal pieces (Image 9). For each piece, bring the two cut ends together, seal them, and shape into a ball with the sealed side down and smooth side up, similar to the rounding process used in bread making (Image 10).
Take a small bowl, add a splash of soy sauce and a bit of flour, stirring to combine. Brush the smooth side of the dough lightly with the soy sauce mixture (Image 11), then coat it thoroughly with sesame seeds (Image 12). Flatten it with your hand and roll it out into a round disc (Image 13).
Using a mixture of soy sauce and flour to coat the sesame seeds will make them stick especially firmly, so they almost never fall off.
Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and puffed.
⑥ Heat the electric griddle, place the dough pieces in and cook for 7-8 minutes until both sides are lightly golden (Image 14). Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) with both top and bottom heating elements, place the sesame-side-up flatbreads in the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes until the surface puffs up (Image 15).
*Pre-browning the dough rounds in a pan helps them develop color and hold their shape, which is essential for achieving that beautiful golden-brown crust when baked.
*If you don't have an oven, you can cook them in an electric griddle. Try not to cover them with the lid while cooking, as this will press the cakes flat and prevent them from forming layers, resulting in a poor texture. Instead, use a taller lid to cover them.
Flexible application
The sesame sauce flatbreads sold outside are generally of two types: those made with unleavened dough and those made with leavened dough. Pure unleavened dough has a somewhat chewy texture, while leavened dough is too soft. The method introduced here falls somewhere in between, resulting in a texture that is neither too soft nor too chewy. Of course, this ultimately depends on personal preference and technique.
