Zaoqiang Shoe-Sole Flatbread 枣强鞋底烧饼
Zaoqiang Shoe-Sole Flatbread is featured among the local specialties of Hebei.
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Zaoqiang Shoe-Sole Flatbread (枣强鞋底烧饼) is a traditional bread from Zaoqiang County (枣强县), Hengshui (衡水). Its name refers to its outline. Beijing Tourism describes a sesame-topped version with a hollow centre between two equally thin walls; the sesame-covered side rises into a domed lid.
Gentle baking
One face of the shaped dough is dipped in sesame seeds before the bread is attached to the oven. It bakes over a low fire and is lifted off with an iron scraper. The finished bread is eaten hot, when its exterior is crisp and its inside remains tender.
A smoked-meat branch
Beijing Tourism identifies Zhang Shuxia (张淑霞), a niece by marriage of bread maker Song Shanzhuang (宋善庄), with another branch of the local tradition. She began baking near the county town’s old crossroads in the early 1980s. Her family’s skill in smoking meat brought the bread and smoked meat together in a single local preparation.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-26. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.