Crispy Bing Bread (家常饼)
Servings: 8 breads
Ingredients
- 500 grams / 17 ounces all-purpose flour *see conversion to cups
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup room temperature water *see footnote 1
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil or lard or chicken grease
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Add flour into a large bowl.
- Slowly add boiling water and mix the flour with a pair of chopsticks (or a spatula), until water is fully absorbed.
- Slowly add room temperature water, continuing to mix, until water is fully absorbed and there is no dry flour on the bottom of the bowl.
- Dust both hands with flour and start to knead the mixture, until dough forms. The dough should be quite sticky and difficult to lift from the bowl.
- Dust a working surface (or a large cutting board) with flour. Transfer the dough to the working surface and knead for another 5 minutes.
- Dust the same big bowl with flour and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the dough with a wet clean kitchen towel and place a lid on the bowl. Let rest for 1 hour.
- Dust both hands and the working surface again with flour. Transfer the dough to the working surface.
- Knead the dough for another 3 minutes, until the texture becomes smooth.
- Divide the dough in half. Divide each half further into 4 equal pieces (*see footnote 2). Transfer half of the dough into the bowl and cover with the wet kitchen towel, to keep it from drying out.
- Work on the dough pieces one at a time. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin rectangular sheet, about the thickness of a dollar coin. Lift up the thin sheet once in the middle of rolling, to prevent the dough from sticking to the working surface.
- Brush a thin layer of oil on the dough. Evenly spread salt on top.
- Fold the dough accordion-style back and forth, until the dough becomes a long strip. Flip the dough to let it stand, oiled side up. Tug and roll the dough from one end like a swirl, until it’s shaped like a snail shell. Set aside.
- Continue to work on the rest of the dough pieces in the same way.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until warm.
- Press the dough until it’s shaped like a disk, about 0.6mm (1/5 inch) thick.
- Place the dough in the skillet. Grill each side for about 2 minutes, until both sides turns golden brown. If the skillet starts to get too hot, turn to low heat. Transfer the bing bread to a plate. (*see footnote 3) Continue to press and cook the rest dough pieces.
- Serve warm as a side.
Storage and reheating
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
- To reheat, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat until warm. Place the bread inside. When the skillet is hot, flip the bread. Add 1 tablespoon water and cover the skillet immediately. Turn to low heat and cook until heated through.
Notes
1. If you’re confident in your bread-making skills, try to make the dough as wet as possible, as long as you can handle it. Don’t worry if you add a bit more water. You could mix with a spatula until the dough forms and don’t need to knead by hand if the dough is too wet. When you start to roll the dough, grease the working surface with a thin layer of oil and the dough won’t stick too much to the surface. It will be a bit messy, but it yields even more fluffy and crispy bread.
2. In this recipe I made 8 small bing breads. The smaller dough is easier to work with. If you are confident in your skills, you could make bigger bread by dividing the dough into 4 or 6 pieces.
3. When you cook the bread, try to control the heat so that the skillet is neither too hot nor too cold. If it is too hot, the bread will easily burn. If too cold, the bread will lose moisture and dry out before cooked through.
2. In this recipe I made 8 small bing breads. The smaller dough is easier to work with. If you are confident in your skills, you could make bigger bread by dividing the dough into 4 or 6 pieces.
3. When you cook the bread, try to control the heat so that the skillet is neither too hot nor too cold. If it is too hot, the bread will easily burn. If too cold, the bread will lose moisture and dry out before cooked through.