Soft Scallion Flatbread (with sourdough discard option!)
Soft scallion flatbread is an easy weeknight version of scallion oil pancakes. It’s softer, making it perfect for using as a wrap the next day (and it won’t drop crumbs everywhere!), uses less oil, making it simpler and healthier, and can be made with leftover dumpling/flatbread dough (such as from my Chive, Egg, and Mushroom Pockets). It still has plenty of scallions and layers, and you can absolutely get them to be flakier if you want—see recipe notes.
These also incorporate sourdough discard without tasting sour (if you want a sour taste, use a higher proportion of starter and adjust flour/water accordingly) but the I love these because they don’t feel too heavy and reheat better!
Ingredients
- Flour: Use all-purpose for the dough. If you use 100g of sourdough starter, use only 250g flour.
- Water: Use boiling water to first gelatinize some of the starch so that the dough is soft, and use the remaining water at room temp to dissolve the yeast and finish the dough.
- Yeast: This is added so that thicker areas doesn’t taste gummy/doughy, you could probably sub it out with an equal amount of baking powder or just omit it with very little loss of texture. Just make sure to roll the flatbread thin!
- Scallions/green onions: Use fresh, fragrant scallion greens and whites!
- Oil: Use a flavorless oil, such as avocado, or sesame oil if you like the flavor. If you want a spicy flatbread, try chili oil! This helps create layers when you roll up the dough.
- Sesame seeds: Optional, but tasty and pretty! Use raw seeds so that they don’t burn when you cook the flatbread.
Assembly
Recipes Using Similar Doughs
- Dumpling Wrappers
- Chive, Egg, and Mushroom Pockets (韭菜盒子)
- Pretty much any dough, leavened or not, will work as long as it’s not too sticky.
Soft Scallion Flatbread (with sourdough discard option)
Course: Sides, Snacks, Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes10
minutesIngredients
300g flour
100g sourdough discard, optional (use 250g flour and 50g room-temp water if using discard)
80g (⅓ cup) boiling water
100g (¼ cup + 3 tbsp) room-temp water (50g)
¼ tsp yeast
8 scallions/green onions
oil for brushing, about 2 tbsp
salt to taste
3 tbsp raw sesame seeds, optional
Directions
- Add the boiling water to the flour and mix until the water is evenly dispersed.
- Dissolve the sourdough discard (if using) and yeast in the room-temp water. Once the flour + boiling water is cooled to body temp, add the yeast water to it and knead to form a soft (but not sticky) dough. This takes about 10 minutes in a stand mixer and a little longer by hand. Add some more flour/water as needed, but make sure the dough isn’t too sticky. Let the dough rest while you make the filling/clean up, or until it’s easily rolled out.
- Slit the scallions lengthwise and slice thinly.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces (or however many you want). Dust a cutting board with flour and roll one piece out into a oval/rectangle while keeping the other pieces covered.
- Brush a layer of oil evenly over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle scallions over the surface, then sprinkle salt to taste over them.
- Roll up the dough into a tight log, then roll the log into a snail-shell shape. See blog post for photos. Work through the rest of the dough in this way.
- Returning to the first piece of dough, roll it out into a thin round-ish flatbread. If using, press sesame seeds into the dough as you roll it out. Again, see blog post for photos. Repeat for all the dough. If the dough is resisting being rolled, let it rest for a while.
- In a hot pan over medium to medium-high heat, brush a thin layer of oil on the pan and cook the flatbread until the dough starts to brown. Flip and cook on the other side until browned. The flatbread should be done at this point if you rolled the dough thin enough, but cook longer if needed.
- Enjoy hot!
Notes
- To get flakier pancakes more like traditional scallion oil pancakes, sprinkle a thin layer of flour evenly over the oil when brushing it over the dough, and use more oil while brushing and frying. Frying it for longer at a lower temperature to crisp up the surface of the flatbread also helps, and make sure your flatbread is as thin as you can get it.
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