Easy Flaky Black Sesame Pancake - 黑芝麻饼

A twist on the classic Chinese street food green onion pancakes (aka scallion pancakes aka cong you bing aka 葱油饼)! This version is all about black sesame, which when roasted, has a very savory aroma. Perfect for buddhist vegetarians who can’t eat green onions ;)
Makes 6 6-in pancakes or 8 4-in pancakes.
Resting time: 30 mins
Prep time: 45 mins if you’re slow like me
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hr 30 mins
Ingredients I used:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup room temperature water
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp black sesame paste (100% pure grounded black sesame)
2 tsp black sesame oil (regular would be fine too; even other neutral oils would be good in a pinch or recommended for a sweet version)
Another pinch or two of salt (or a sprinkle of sugar) for each pancake before rolling
Oil for pan frying
Directions:
Knead together flour and water, adding hot water before room temp water. Rest 20-30 minutes.
Combine black sesame paste and oil for the mixture. It should be runny; leaning on the more oily side is better than having it too pasty.
Divide the dough into portions. Roll each portion out thinly before adding a thin layer of black sesame filling mixture. Roll that up into a log before rolling up like a cinnamon roll. Pinch the end to the side or tuck it in the bottom to seal.
Let the rolls rest while rolling up the other ones because the gluten needs time to relax before you are able to roll it flat.
When it is ready, roll each pancake flat but not too thin. About 1/2 cm is good.
Add a tbsp of oil to a pan and pan fry on one side for a few minutes. Flip to cook the other side. At this point the first side will not seem brown enough but you can keep flipping and going back later after you cook the second side for a minute or so. You can also briefly turn up the heat to make the outside crispy and prevent a soggy oily mess.
Remove onto some paper towels and blot the oily bits.
Cut into pieces for serving or just tear it up with you hands!
[vegan / vegetarian]