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Skip your regular bread and elevate your breakfast with flaky and crisp Chinese sesame flatbread. It is made with leavened dough brushed with a savory paste flavored with Chinese five spice powder and salt and pepper seasoning. Enjoy this on its own, or use it as a sandwich bread for your favorite stuffings.
What Is Chinese Sesame Flatbread (Shaobing)?
Experience a Chinese or Taiwanese-style breakfast by making Chinese sesame flatbread, also known as huoshao or shaobing. It is also a popular street food treat that is recognizable for its layers of flaky and crusty bread. It gets its flavorful layers by flattening the dough into a flat sheet and then brushing it with a savory paste before rolling it into smaller pieces.
Traditionally, the bread is made with unleavened dough and baked until golden and crispy. In my recipe version, I used leavened dough made with flour, a bit of sugar, yeast, and water. The savory paste I used is a mix of flour, Chinese five-spice powder, salt and pepper seasoning, salt, and hot oil.
Unlike other flaky and chewy pastries like wife cakes and Suzhou mooncakes that are baked in the oven, I pan-fried the Shaobing with oil. If you prefer a sweet treat, brush the dough with a sweet paste rather than a savory one. For extra flavor, I incorporated chopped green onions in the layers and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for a nutty outer coating. Once you have this, you can use it like a typical bread, pita bread, or tortilla wrap for a sandwich meal.
There are many ways to serve and enjoy Chinese sesame flatbread. I like to eat these with a nice drink, such as soy milk and hot tea. You can eat it plain or serve it with congee, youtiao, steamed eggs, hot pot, and savory meat and vegetable dishes such as scrambled eggs, tofu, braised beef, smoked meat, or shredded chicken.
Dough And Filling Ingredient Tips
You will be making the paste filling and the bread dough. Now before replacing or omitting an ingredient, I believe it is best to read this section first to know about each ingredient’s importance and contribution to the dish. Here’s a breakdown of ingredients, as well as tips and alternatives:
For the oil paste filling:
- All-purpose flour: The flour makes the filling smooth and thick. Use plain or all-purpose flour. Other types of flour are fine as long as you can make the same texture as all-purpose flour.
- Chinese five spice powder: Season the paste filling with Chinese five spice powder. It is a mix of star anise (八角), Chinese cinnamon (肉桂), fennel seeds (小茴香), Szechuan peppercorns (花椒), and cloves (丁香). This spice adds a sweet, warm, and a hint of licorice-like flavor. You can get this in the spice section of a grocery store. Alternatively, making one yourself is also a good option. Simply follow my homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder To replace this spice, try any of the 5 Chinese Five Spice substitutes.
- Salt and pepper seasoning: Another unique tasting spice is Salt And Pepper Seasoning. This seasoning is a blend of six spices, including Sichuan peppercorn, fennel seed, shrimp skin, white sesame, salt, Chinese five-spice powder, and paprika (optional for a slightly spicy taste). You can get this in the spice section of your local grocery store or make one yourself with my easy Salt And Pepper Seasoning. If you are making one yourself, I suggest making a large batch of this so you can make other salt and pepper dishes, such as salt and pepper tofu, salt and pepper pork chops, and salt and pepper chicken wings, to name a few.
- Salt: Season the paste with salt to help bring out the flavors. Any salt will do, such as sea salt, pink salt, and kosher salt.
- Hot oil: I recommend heating oil with a high smoke point. Using cooking oil with a high smoke point helps reduce the amount of oil oxidized and is better for cooking at high temperatures. Oils with a high smoke point are avocado, peanut, canola, and corn oil. You can also opt a healthier option, such as olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil.
- Optional filling: As you already know, my paste-filling recipe is savory tasting. If you prefer a different taste, here are some filling ideas to try:
- Toppings: After spreading the paste filling on the flattened dough sheet, I sprinkled some chopped green onions on top. Make sure to add the green onions before rolling and folding the dough. Green onions are great for mild sweetness and oniony taste. Then, after shaping the dough into an oval-shaped bread, I sprinkled some white sesame seeds on one side before frying it in the pan. White sesame seeds add a delightful nutty taste to the bread. You can replace white sesame seeds with black sesame seeds, but keep in mind black sesame seeds have a stronger flavor profile than white sesame seeds. If you want to add more umami and salty flavors, I recommend dipping the dough into soy sauce before sprinkling the sesame seeds on top.
For the dough:
- Flour: The base of the dough is made with flour. Typically, I use all-purpose flour for making buns such as Salted Egg Yolk Buns and Steamed Piggy Buns as it yields soft and fluffy bread. You can also use barley flour, bread flour, or a combination of plain and whole wheat flour. Avoid using special flour like rice flour or glutinous rice flour since these will give you a sticky and chewy texture, which won’t be ideal for the bread.
- Sugar: Sugar helps make the dough taste better with a hint of sweetness. This can be optional, however, I still suggest incorporating sugar to help the yeast ferment efficiently. In fact, the yeast feeds on sugar, which then converts it into carbon dioxide and ethanol. These two elements are responsible for making the dough rise, giving you a puffy and flaky flatbread.
- Yeast powder: As mentioned, yeast is needed to give you flaky and airy bread. Although some flatbread recipes leave this out, I recommend adding it if you prefer this texture. You can use any type of yeast, such as instant or active dry yeast.
- Warm water: It is best to use warm water, between 100°F and 110°F to aid in the fermentation process. If the temperature is 120°F, it will start to kill the yeast. And when the temperature becomes 140°F or higher, the yeast will be completely killed off. Once the yeast is killed, it won’t activate the fermentation process.
Expert Tips For A Successful Leavened Dough
If it is your first time making bread, why don’t you read this section first for more guidance? In this section, I share my foolproof tips on how to make a successful dough. From knowing the right consistency to proper kneading, here’s what you need to know before starting with the recipe steps:
- Use a kitchen weighing scale and kitchen thermometer for accurate measurements. Sometimes, the dough texture gets affected when the ingredients are not measured properly. Thus, it helps to have a kitchen weighing scale to get accurate measurements. Moreover, since you want to be careful with the water temperature for the yeast, use a kitchen thermometer to have peace of mind that the water is not too hot.
- Achieve the ideal dough consistency. You want to get a non-sticky pliable dough. It may stick a bit but it should not hold on to your fingers. Moreover, it should not be too wet that it cannot hold its shape anymore. If the dough is too wet or sticky, gradually add flour in small amounts. If it is too stiff, gradually add water. Do the adjustment in small amounts to avoid overdoing it.
- Knead until you have a smooth dough:Kneading is key to getting the best results for your bread. Do not rush this step until you create a smooth dough. The more you knead the dough, the smoother it becomes. You will be kneading the dough once, before flattening it into a sheet and brushing the paste filling. If the dough keeps sticking to the surface during the kneading step, dust the surface with a bit of flour to remove the stickiness.
- Rest the assembled dough:Resting is done for 20 minutes after shaping it into an oval and sprinkling the sesame seeds. I know you are probably hungry by this time, but don’t skip or rush the resting step. If you don’t know yet, resting is needed to help the gluten relax and hydrate. In this way, it holds its shape better and won’t just deform as you pan fry it. If the dough does not rest properly, it will be difficult to shape and roll it out.
- Avoid over-resting the dough:Although I mentioned not to rush the resting step, it is also not a good idea to over-rest the dough. Leaving the dough to rest for too long, especially in a warm environment, will make the bread bitter because of the over-fermented yeast. This will also create too much air in the dough, leaving you with holes and causing the bread to crumble as it cooks. Keep in mind that the fermentation process speeds up in a warmer environment and slows down in a colder environment.
Ingredients And Kitchenware Needed
Prepare your mixing bowls for the paste filling and the dough. It helps to have baking tools such as a rolling pin, dough cutter, and oil brush. Don’t forget to prepare a cling wrap or an airtight container as you let the assembled dough rest.
Moreover, I recommend a non-stick pan to make it easier to flip the bread without sticking to the pan. Use your kitchen weighing scale to prepare the ingredients. Here’s what you need for the ingredients:
For the oil paste:
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/2 tablespoon salt and pepper seasoning
- 1/4 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons hot oil
For the dough:
- 300g plain flour
- 3g white sugar
- 3g yeast
- 170g water
Toppings:
- A sprinkle of chopped green onions (enough for the entire dough sheet)
- White sesame seeds (or black sesame seeds)
Detailed Steps To Make Chinese Sesame Flatbread (Shaobing)
Check out my Instagram or TikTok tutorial video to learn how I knead and shape the flatbread. In a nutshell, the steps you will be doing are kneading, shaping, assembling, resting, and pan-frying. When you are done making this recipe, snap a photo and remember to tag me @kitchenmisadventures!
Let us know your thoughts and recommendations by leaving a comment below. If you love bread, buns, or pastry recipes, try making my Oven-Baked Red Bean Bread, Fluffy Pork Floss Bun, and Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns (Bolo Bao).
- Prepare the oil paste by mixing all-purpose flour, Chinese five-spice powder, salt and pepper seasoning, salt, and hot oil.
- Make the dough by mixing all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast, and water. Stir until it forms fluffy clumps. Afterward, knead it into a smooth ball of dough.
- Roll it out into a large rectangular sheet using a rolling pin.
- Pour the prepared oil paste filling over the flat dough and spread it evenly using the edge of a dough cutter.
- Sprinkle chopped green onions over the paste.
- Roll up the dough with the filling side inside. Cut it into 6 equal parts using a dough cutter.
- Seal the open edges of each piece by pinching it until the inside of the roll is no longer visible.
- Slightly stretch out and fold the two ends to form a circular dough.
- Gently flatten the dough into an oval shape using a rolling pin.
- Brush water on the surface with an oil brush and sprinkle sesame seeds. Embed the sesame seeds onto the dough by gently pressing it with a rolling pin.
- After rolling all the pieces, let them rest for 20 minutes while covered in plastic wrap.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the flatbreads. Brush oil on the surface of the bread and use medium heat. If you prefer the oven method, bake the flatbread at 450°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
- Flip the flatbreads and fry until both sides turn golden brown and crispy. Avoid over-frying the flatbread or you might end up with a very stiff bread.
- Give it a good squeeze to hear the delightful flaky crunch! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or even longer in the freezer. Reheat the flatbread by defrosting it and toasting it in the pan or oven.
Shaobing Recipe (Flaky Chinese Sesame Flatbread)
Ingredients
For the oil paste:
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/2 tablespoon salt and pepper seasoning
- 1/4 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons hot oil
For the dough:
- 300 g plain flour
- 3 g white sugar
- 3 g yeast
- 170 g water
Toppings:
- A sprinkle of chopped green onions enough for the entire dough sheet
- White sesame seeds or black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the oil paste by mixing all-purpose flour, Chinese five-spice powder, salt and pepper seasoning, salt, and hot oil.
- Make the dough by mixing all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast, and water. Stir until it forms fluffy clumps. Afterward, knead it into a smooth ball of dough.
- Roll it out into a large rectangular sheet using a rolling pin.
- Pour the prepared oil paste filling over the flat dough and spread it evenly using the edge of a dough cutter.
- Sprinkle chopped green onions over the paste.
- Roll up the dough with the filling side inside. Cut it into 6 equal parts using a dough cutter.
- Seal the open edges of each piece by pinching it until the inside of the roll is no longer visible.
- Slightly stretch out and fold the two ends to form a circular dough.
- Gently flatten the dough into an oval shape using a rolling pin.
- Brush water on the surface with an oil brush and sprinkle sesame seeds. Embed the sesame seeds onto the dough by gently pressing it with a rolling pin.
- After rolling all the pieces, let them rest for 20 minutes while covered in plastic wrap.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the flatbreads. Brush oil on the surface of the bread and use medium heat. If you prefer the oven method, bake the flatbread at 450°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
- Flip the flatbreads and fry until both sides turn golden brown and crispy. Avoid over-frying the flatbread or you might end up with a very stiff bread.
- Give it a good squeeze to hear the delightful flaky crunch! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or even longer in the freezer. Reheat the flatbread by defrosting it and toasting it in the pan or oven.
