Neixiang Jar-Oven Sesame Flatbread 内乡缸炉烧饼
Neixiang Jar-Oven Sesame Flatbread is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Neixiang Jar-Oven Sesame Flatbread (内乡缸炉烧饼) is a round, sesame-topped wheat flatbread from Neixiang County (内乡县), Henan, brushed with malt syrup and baked on the wall of a charcoal oven; the county government says it is known far and wide for being flaky, crisp, fragrant, sweet and savoury.
How it is made
A 2018 food feature on the Neixiang County government website gives the usual proportions: for every 80 jin of white flour, 1 jin of sesame oil, 1 jin of salt, 5 jin of scallions and a suitable amount of five-spice powder and other seasonings. The dough is kneaded again and again until it is fine, even and glossy, then rolled into rounds. Each round is brushed with malt syrup (糖稀), scattered with sesame and stuck to the oven wall, where it bakes over charcoal until it turns yellow and crisp.
The same feature describes the bread of Sanmao (三毛), a baker whose shop in the street quarter of the old Neixiang county yamen (内乡县衙街区) has a good name. Top-grade flour is mixed with warm water and oil, then fermented, coiled and kneaded. The dough is cut into round pieces with a knife and rolled flat, coated with a layer of sugar syrup and oil, sprinkled with salt, Sichuan pepper, fennel powder and other seasonings, then covered with black and white sesame and baked over charcoal in a purpose-built flatbread oven.
Flavour and texture
The Sanmao bread comes out round and yellow, as thin as paper, red shading into yellow, crisp outside and tender inside, and flaky and fragrant.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片A similar preparation is pictured; the local version may differ. 同类菜品参考照片，当地做法可能不同。Photo: N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0Resized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited. Thumbnails may show a cropped view.
