Sesame seeds
Sesame seed, from Sesamum indicum, is about half oil and is eaten whole, ground into paste or pressed into oil. It was a crop of South Asia by the Harappan period and reached Mesopotamia before 2000 BC.
Shanghai da bing
上海大饼 · Shanghai sesame pancake · da bing · 大饼
Shanghai breakfast flatbreads layered with butter, scallion and pepper, then topped with sesame and baked.
A Shanghai breakfast bread
Da bing is one of the breakfast breads associated with Shanghai. The Woks of Life describes it alongside youtiao, soy milk and ci fan as part of the city's Four Warriors. This recipe is the site's modern home version, written by Judy, who was born in Shanghai; it is one member of a wider sesame flatbread family rather than a universal Chinese formula.
The dough has no yeast or chemical leavener. A separate butter-and-flour paste seasoned with scallion and pepper is enclosed in each piece. Rolling and coiling distribute the fat paste into layers. The source also permits lard instead of butter; this version uses butter, the alternative preferred by its authors. The substitution changes the fat but keeps the same shaping method.
Sources for this section
Shape and bake
Resting the plain dough makes portions easier to roll. Chilling the paste firms it before wrapping. After enclosure, roll the first oval, fold it lengthwise and coil it; flatten the coil and roll again to form layers. A final oval about ⅛ inch thick gets a light water brushing so the toasted sesame sticks.
Bake the ten pancakes at 450°F (230°C) for about 18 minutes, until lightly golden. The recipe uses a parchment-lined baking sheet and serves the bread with youtiao. It gives one ten-piece batch and no tested scale-up or scale-down.
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Food handling and allergens
This version contains wheat, sesame and, with the selected butter, milk. The FDA identifies all three among major food allergens. Flour is raw and may carry harmful bacteria: keep it away from ready-to-eat food, wash hands and equipment after handling, and do not taste the unbaked dough.
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History
The Woks of Life presents da bing as one of Shanghai's breakfast 'Four Warriors,' alongside youtiao, soy milk and sticky-rice rolls. Its recipe is a modern home version by Judy, who was born in Shanghai. Neither the archive nor the inspected recipe page dates da bing's earliest attestation.
Ingredients
Yield 10 pancakes · Scaling: source batch only
All-purpose flourUse 2 cups in the dough and the remaining ½ cup in the pastry paste
591 mL2½ cup as recorded
SaltUse 1 teaspoon in the dough and 1 teaspoon in the pastry paste
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
SugarFor the dough
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Warm waterFor the dough; use a little additional water for brushing the shaped pancakes
177 mL¾ cup as recorded
Additional brushing water as neededButterMelted; this recipe uses the author's butter option rather than lard
59 mL4 tbsp as recorded
Sichuan pepperPowder
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
White pepperGround
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
Spring onionVery finely chopped
3 scallions
Sesame seedsToasted
79 mL0.33 cup as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw wheat flour and dough
Flour may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste the uncooked dough.
Hazard sourceWheat, sesame and milk allergens
This formula contains wheat flour and sesame; the selected butter version also contains milk.
Hazard sourceKeep raw flour and dough away from ready-to-eat food; wash hands, bowls, tools and surfaces after handling, and do not taste dough before baking.
Control sourceTell diners that this version contains wheat, sesame and milk. The source notes lard can replace butter, but that changes the fat and does not make sesame or wheat optional.
Control sourceContains wheat, sesame and milk (butter version).
The source's sesame topping is integral to this version.
- Stir 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar and warm water together, then knead or mix until smooth. Cover the dough and leave it for 30 minutes.
- For the filling paste, blend the melted butter with the remaining ½ cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, both peppers and scallions. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Split both dough and chilled paste into 10 equal portions. Keep the paste cool as you work.
- Flatten a dough portion, place a paste portion in its centre, wrap the dough around it and pinch the seam closed. Press flat and roll into an oval about ⅛ inch thick.
- Fold the oval lengthwise into a strip and roll it into a coil. Stand the coil on its side, press it flat and roll it into a second oval.
- Arrange each shaped pancake on the lined sheet. Brush with a little water, cover the surface evenly with toasted sesame seeds and press them in gently.
- Bake about 18 minutes, until lightly golden. Serve warm; the source pairs the bread with youtiao.
Conditions
Yield10 pancakes
Places
Shanghai
Documented preparation · Locality evidenceThe Woks of Life identifies this as a Shanghai da bing recipe and its author was born in Shanghai. This documents a modern home preparation, not the origin of the broader sesame flatbread family.
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Sources
The Woks of LifeMethod · History · Geography
Shanghai Sesame Pancakes (上海大饼)The recipe identifies itself as a modern home version of Shanghai da bing, part of the Shanghai breakfast Four Warriors with youtiao, soy milk and ci fan; the author Judy was born in Shanghai.
The 10-piece formula uses dough made from 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar and ¾ cup warm water; its pastry paste uses 4 tablespoons butter or lard, ½ cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon Sichuan pepper, ¼ teaspoon white pepper and 3 finely chopped scallions; the surface uses water and ⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds.
The dough rests 30 minutes, pastry paste chills 15 minutes, dough and paste are portioned into 10, wrapped together, rolled, folded, coiled and rolled again; the sesame-topped pancakes bake at 450°F/230°C for about 18 minutes.
Cited in: A Shanghai breakfast bread; Shape and bake
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour may contain harmful bacteria; do not taste raw flour or dough; keep it separate from ready-to-eat foods and clean hands, tools and surfaces after handling.
Cited in: Food handling and allergens
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Food AllergiesThe FDA lists wheat, milk and sesame among the major food allergens.
Cited in: Food handling and allergens