Da Bing, Chinese Scallion Bread

Da Bing is a savory, nutty Chinese flatbread with a crispy exterior and fluffy interior! It is a giant, leavened version of Chinese scallion pancakes that is surprisingly easy to make.

Da bing (大餅) is a Chinese/Taiwanese scallion flatbread and popular street food. Unlike most bread recipes, this scallion bread is cooked in a skillet for a crispy exterior. It is also similar to Chinese scallion pancakes but has yeast for fluffy layers rather than flaky layers. 

In Chinese, “da bing” literally translates to “giant bread.” This name is accurate because this scallion flatbread is very large in size. Street food vendors can make it even larger. Some people also refer to this dish as 芝麻大餅 (zhi ma da bing), giant sesame bread, or 蔥花大餅 (cong hua da bing), giant scallion bread.

Even though this bread does not require many ingredients, it still has incredible flavor from the toasted sesame exterior and the scallion interior. It is also a relatively quick and easy bread recipe; it does not even need an oven! 

Tips

1. After kneading the dough together, it should be very soft and slightly tacky. The high hydration (water to flour ratio) makes the bread elastic and pliable. This makes it easier for the dough to be rolled out thinly and create layers.
2. If at any point the dough is not rolling out into/springing back from the shape you want, cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Resting the dough relaxes the gluten and makes the dough easier to handle. 
3. Make sure to pan-fry the bread on medium heat for the first side. I noticed that cooking the bread on a lower heat resulted in denser bread. The higher heat will help the bread to rise and create little air pockets.  
4. Be careful when pan-frying on the sesame side. Sesame seeds can burn quickly, so keep an eye on the bread and rotate it occasionally to cook the crust evenly and prevent them from burning. 

Print Recipe

Da Bing, Chinese Scallion Bread

Da Bing is a savory, nutty Chinese flatbread with a crispy exterior and fluffy interior! It is a giant, leavened version of Chinese scallion pancakes that is surprisingly easy to make.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Inactive Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese, Taiwanese

Keyword: Chinese scallion bread, da bing, scallion bread, scallion flatbread, zhi ma da bing

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 240kcal

Ingredients

Bread

• 360 g AP flour 3 cups (Note 1)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp instant yeast
• 210 mL warm water 1 cup
• 2 tbsp oil 25 g

Filling

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp five spice
• 1 cup green onions chopped (60 grams)

Sesame Topping

• sesame seeds
• water for brushing

Instructions

Prepare the Bread

• In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add in the warm water and oil. Knead everything together until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. (To adjust the dough if it is a little too dry: sprinkle in a little bit of water. If the dough is too wet, add a small amount of flour) Note 2
• Cover the bowl with a lid or damp towel. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in volume, around 1-1.5 hrs.
• Punch down the dough to remove the large air bubbles. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle around 1/3″ thick.
• Spread a thin layer of oil across the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the chopped green onions and five spice on top.
• Roll the dough up from the long end to create a log. Then, roll up the log sideways into a spiral or snail shell shape. Note 3
• Flatten the dough out to your desired thickness. The thicker the bread, the longer it will take to cook.
• Sprinkle a small amount of water on the surface of the dough. Add your desired amount of sesame seeds on top. Use your hands or a rolling pin to press the sesame seeds into the dough to ensure that they adhere
• Cover the bread and let it rise for around 30 minutes or until noticeably puffy.

Cook the Bread

• Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Place the bread on the pan, cover, and cook until the bottom is nicely golden brown, around 5 minutes. Note 4
• Uncover and flip the bread over so that the sesame side is down. Cook this side until golden brown as well, around 3-4 minutes. Continue flipping and cooking each side until the bread has cooked through, roughly 20 minutes in total. (To test whether the bread finished cooking, poke the side of the bread gently with your finger. If the bread is done, it should spring back when pressed.) Note 5
• Let the bread cool slightly before slicing and serving. You can freeze the bread for longer storage.

Notes

1. If measuring flour by cups, make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the excess with a flat edge. This will make your flour measurement as close to 360 grams as possible
2. The high hydration (water to flour ratio) makes the bread elastic and pliable. This makes it easier for the dough to be rolled out thinly and create layers.
3. If at any point the dough is not rolling out into/springing back from the shape you want, cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Resting the dough relaxes the gluten and makes the dough easier to handle.
4. Make sure to pan-fry the bread on medium heat for the first side. I noticed that cooking the bread on a lower heat resulted in denser bread. The higher heat will help the bread to rise and create little air pockets.
5. Be careful when pan-frying on the sesame side. Sesame seeds can burn quickly, so keep an eye on the bread and rotate it occasionally to cook the crust evenly and prevent them from burning.

How to Make Da Bing

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add in the warm water and oil. Knead everything together until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. (To adjust the dough if it is a little too dry: sprinkle in a little bit of water. If the dough is too wet, add a small amount of flour). Cover the bowl with a lid or damp towel. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in volume, around 1-1.5 hrs.

Punch down the dough to remove the large air bubbles. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle around 1/3″ thick. Spread a thin layer of oil across the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the chopped green onions and five spice on top. Roll the dough up from the long end to create a log. Then, roll up the log sideways into a spiral or snail shell shape. Flatten the dough out to your desired thickness. The thicker the bread, the longer it will take to cook.

Sprinkle a small amount of water on the surface of the dough. Add your desired amount of sesame seeds on top. Use your hands or a rolling pin to press the sesame seeds into the dough to ensure that they adhere. Cover the bread and let it rise for around 30 minutes or until noticeably puffy.

Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Place the bread on the pan, cover, and cook until the bottom is nicely golden brown, around 5 minutes.

Uncover and flip the bread over so that the sesame side is down. Cook this side until golden brown as well, around 3-4 minutes. Continue flipping and cooking each side until the bread has cooked through, roughly 20 minutes in total. (To test whether the bread finished cooking, poke the side of the bread gently with your finger. If the bread is done, it should spring back when pressed.)