Shanghai Da Bing Sesame Pancake 上海大饼

As you may know, we’ve undertaken the task of documenting recipes for Shanghai’s most beloved breakfast items––fondly known as The Four Warriors: Da Bing (大饼), You Tiao (油条), Dou Jiang (豆浆), and Ci Fan (粢饭).

I’m glad to say that this Shanghai Da Bing recipe (上海大饼) concludes that mission. If this is the first time you’re hearing about The Four Warriors, check out our rundown of how to eat like a local for breakfast in Shanghai. (Be warned, that post will make you very hungry.)

For this one, I’m going to keep it short, so we can get to the da bing. The one thing I want to point out is that Shanghainese cooking uses quite bit of lard (remember this guy from a Shanghai street food stall making Shanghai Scallion Pancakes? He adds a small handful of lard, followed by a large handful of scallions for each pancake.

This Shanghai da bing (大饼) or sesame pancake recipe is no exception. But in practice, we are a bit more receptive to butter than lard, since it’s readily available, so I took the liberty of making the recipe a bit more flexible. The end result is still pretty awesome. For vegans, vegetable shortening is another alternative.

For us Shanghainese people living overseas, we all know that it’s literally impossible to find good da bing (Chinese sesame pancake) anywhere. Good you tiao (油条) or Chinese fired dough, is no problem (check the freezer section of your Asian supermarket), but try locating a decent da bing, and fuhgettabout it! Without da bing, you tiao (油条) is like a lost soul searching for its soulmate, and that perfect marriage often hasn’t been possible for us stateside.

Until now that is. The taste of home is right at your fingertips–let’s get to it!

For the dai bing dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¾ cup warm water

Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric mixer (or by hand) to form a soft and smooth dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, make the pastry dough.

For the dai bing pastry dough:

• 4 tablespoons melted butter or lard
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 scallions, very finely chopped

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl using a rubber spatula. Make sure everything is evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Additional ingredients:

• Water and a pastry brush
• ⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.

Divide the pastry dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each into a ball while it’s still chilled.

Flatten the dough ball and wrap the pastry dough ball inside it.

Pinch the outer layer closed. 

Flatten with the palm of your hand…

And roll out into an oval shape, about an eighth of an inch thick.

Fold the oval in half lengthwise, and roll into a coil.

Turn the roll on its side, and flatten with the palm of your hand once again.

Roll into another oval. This step creates some “lamination” in the dough, which will give you flaky layers in your da bing. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Place the da bing on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with water, and sprinkle generously with an even layer of sesame seeds, pressing them lightly into the dough.

Bake the da bing for 18 minutes until lightly golden brown. Be careful not to overbake them.

Be sure to serve the da bing with you tiao (油条)! It’s a delicious carb on carb combination that you won’t regret. You can store the leftovers in an airtight container, and reheat in a toaster oven at 350 degrees F.

Print Recipe

4.5 from 2 votes

Shanghai Da Bing Sesame Pancake 上海大饼

This Shanghai da bing (大饼) is our version of the famous Shanghai breakfast of da bing and you tiao. Shanghai da bing (sesame pancake) and you tiao (fried dough) is the preferred breakfast of champions in Shanghai!

Prep Time1 hr 15 mins

Cook Time18 mins

Total Time1 hr 33 mins

Course: Bread and Pizza

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: sesame pancake

Servings: 10

Calories: 187kcal

Author: Judy

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¾ cup warm water (180 ml)

For the pastry dough:

• 4 tablespoons melted butter or lard (58 grams)
• ½ cup all purpose flour (75 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 scallions (very finely chopped)

Additional ingredients:

• Water and a pastry brush
• ⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Make the dough:

• Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric mixer (or by hand) to form a soft and smooth dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, make the pastry dough.

For the pastry dough:

• Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl using a rubber spatula. Make sure everything is evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Assemble the da bing:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Then also divide the pastry dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each into a ball while it’s still chilled.
• Flatten the dough ball and wrap the pastry dough ball inside it. Pinch the outer layer closed. Flatten with the palm of your hand, and roll out into an oval shape, about an eighth of an inch thick. Fold the oval in half lengthwise, and roll into a coil. Turn the roll on its side, flatten with the palm of your hand once again, and roll into another oval. This step creates some "lamination" in the dough, which will give you flaky layers in your da bing.
• Place the da bing on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with water, and sprinkle generously with an even layer of sesame seeds, pressing them lightly into the dough.
• Bake the da bing for 18 minutes until lightly golden brown. Be careful not to overbake them.
• Be sure to serve this with you tiao (油条)! It’s a delicious carb on carb combination that you won’t regret. You can store the leftovers in an airtight container, and reheat in a toaster oven at 350 degrees F.

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3.5% | Vitamin C: 0.8% | Calcium: 5.6% | Iron: 12.4%