Zaozhuang Baked Flatbread 枣庄烧饼
Zaozhuang Baked Flatbread is featured among the local specialties of Shandong.
Zaozhuang Baked Flatbread (枣庄烧饼) is a large, thin wheat flatbread from Zaozhuang (枣庄), Shandong, known locally as the 'big shaobing' (大烧饼). The Shizhong District (市中区) government of Zaozhuang counts it among the larger flatbreads of Shandong: about 30 centimetres across, it resembles Xinjiang naan but is thinner and soft to the bite.
How it is made
The dough uses only water and white wheat flour. It is mixed ahead and left for two to three hours to rise on its own, then divided by hand into small pieces. Each piece is worked on a smooth stone slab, with the baker's hands crossing left and right, into an even round about 30 centimetres wide.
The oven is a tall, raised stove with two iron griddle plates (鏊子) set inside, one at the top and one in the middle, about 20 centimetres apart. Charcoal or anthracite burns in the firebox beneath the lower plate, and the heat from that plate bakes the bread evenly. The baker lifts the round of dough on a special broom, pushes it into the stove and flicks it upward so that it sticks with a slap to the upper griddle. It is done in about a minute.
Flavour and texture
The finished bread is dry and crisp, with the natural sweetness of wheat starch, while staying soft rather than hard in the mouth.
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.
