These are flaky Chinese sesame flatbreads with a molten brown sugar and sesame paste swirl inside and a crust of toasted sesame seeds outside. They are pan-fried under a lid, so they puff, turn crisp and golden, and stay soft in the layers. Makes 8 flatbreads in about 1 hr 45 min.
Prep35 min
Cook25 min
Cooling45 min
Total
1 hr 45 min
Yield
8 flatbreads
DietVegan
Ingredients
Adjust yield
flatbreads
Scales from a half to a double batch. Laminated and yeasted doughs are easiest to handle one batch at a time; bake extra pans in rounds.
2 ⅓ cups (300 g)all-purpose flour, for the dough
¼ tsp (2 g)salt
7 tbsp (100 ml)hot water, just off the boil
6 tbsp (90 ml)cold water
½ cup (100 g)dark brown sugar
2 oz (60 g)toasted sesame paste, Chinese, well stirred
Make the dough: mix the 300 g all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl. Pour in the hot water and stir with chopsticks into shaggy flakes, then add the cold water and knead 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Make the filling: stir the dark brown sugar, toasted sesame paste and 15 g all-purpose flour into a thick, spreadable paste.
On a lightly oiled surface roll the dough into a thin rectangle about 40 x 30 cm (16 x 12 inches). Spread the filling evenly over it, leaving a 1 cm border on one long side.
Roll the dough up tightly from the filled long side into a log, pinch the seam closed and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Pinch the cut ends of each piece closed so the filling cannot leak, stand it on one end and press it into a round about 9 cm (3 1/2 inches) across and 1 cm thick.
Brush the top of each round lightly with the water and press it into the white sesame seeds so the top is well coated. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
Heat 15 ml of the vegetable oil in the skillet over medium-low heat. Add 4 flatbreads sesame side down, cover and cook until the seeds are golden, 4 to 5 minutes.
Turn them over, cover again and cook until the second side is golden and the breads have puffed, 4 to 5 minutes. Uncover and cook 1 to 2 minutes more per side to crisp the crust.
Repeat with the remaining vegetable oil and flatbreads. Let them cool 5 minutes on a rack before eating, as the sugar filling is very hot.
Tips
Keep the heat at medium-low; brown sugar burns quickly if the skillet is too hot.
Stir the sesame paste well before measuring, since the oil separates on standing.
The melted brown sugar filling gets much hotter than the bread feels; rest the flatbreads 5 minutes before biting in.
Good with hot soy milk or jasmine tea.
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How long does it take to make tian zhima shaobing (sweet sesame flatbread)?
Plan on 35 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 45 minutes to rest. The recipe makes 8 flatbreads.
How should I store tian zhima shaobing (sweet sesame flatbread)?
Keep cooled flatbreads in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 month. Reheat in a dry skillet over low heat, covered, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Can I make tian zhima shaobing (sweet sesame flatbread) ahead?
It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.
Is this recipe vegan?
Yes, as written. Check that packaged ingredients such as chocolate, sprinkles and plant butter are labeled vegan.
Sweet shaobing are a northern Chinese breakfast flatbread in which a thin dough is rolled around brown sugar and sesame paste, coated in sesame seeds and cooked in a pan or oven, the same idea as Beijing's tang huoshao. Serve it with hot soy milk or jasmine tea.
Variations
Baked version: pan-fry each side 2 minutes to set the seeds, then bake on a lined sheet at 375°F (190°C) for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and deep golden.
Osmanthus filling: stir 1 tbsp (20 g) osmanthus syrup into the filling and reduce the dark brown sugar to 85 g (scant 1/2 cup); cooking time unchanged.
Black sesame: use 40 g (1/3 cup) black sesame seeds for the topping and black sesame paste in the filling; cooking time unchanged.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 8 servings this recipe makes.
293Calories / serving
10.1gFat
45.0gCarbs
6.2gProtein
12.3gSugar
Whole recipe (8 servings):
~2344 cal ·
81g fat ·
360g carbs ·
50g protein ·
98g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
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