Chinese Onion Bread

We’ve been making Chinese Onion Bread in our kitchen for years. It's a flatbread sold from street vendors in northern China that I read about in one of my very first Asian cookbooks, Pacific Flavours. I love the unique combinations and interesting interpretations of Asian cuisine. That cookbook forever changed what we eat in our kitchen.

Chinese Onion Bread is sometimes called scallion bread, scallion pancakes or onion pancakes. This onion bread is not made from a batter so I think pancake is technically incorrect. Regardless of the name, this is a flatbread made without yeast. A simple mixture of flour and water (but gluten free cooks know nothing about gluten free flour could be called simple).

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this gluten free recipe

How To Substitute Using a Gluten Free Flour Blend

I was recently inspired to recreate a gluten free version of my old Chinese Onion Bread recipe. I came across a recipe using chickpea flour and tapioca starch so I tried it. My first attempt was good but I wanted it to be a little lighter. I tried using my EGFG flour blend but experimented by adding some other flours.

The final recipe I'm posting uses my EGFG flour blend plus the addition of chickpea flour. I do most of my experimenting like this. I start with "my everyday blend" but replace some of the total flour amount with a different flour. This is an excellent way to learn how different flours affect your baking.

In my research for onion bread I found recipes using oat flour, millet flour, corn flour or masa harina. I didn't need to try all of them to recreate my recipe gluten free but I do find it interesting to see what others are trying.

After writing my 12-part blog series on How To Use different gluten free flours I feel more confident with substitutions. Life gets easier for gluten free cooks once they know more about the flours options they have.

Let me know in the comments below if you tried this Chinese Onion bread and how it turned out.

More Recipes with Sesame Oil

If you're new to gluten free Asian cooking check out my blog post, a Gluten Free Asian Pantry.

Sesame oil is used as a flavouring rather than a cooking oil in Asian recipes. It has an assertive taste that works well in soups, breads, stir fries and salad dressings. If you purchased sesame oil for the first time here are more ways to use it.

• Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad
• Green Salad with Asian dressing
• Korean Short Ribs
• Lion’s Head Meatballs
• Sesame Salmon on Greens
• Salmon with Chinese Pesto
• Hoisin Glazed Pork Ribs

Chinese Onion Bread

Chinese Onion Bread is a flatbread sold from street vendors in northern China.

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Course: Baking, Bread

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chinese onion bread

Servings: 6 people

Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

• ▢ 1½ cups EGFG gluten free flour blend*
• ▢ ½ cup chickpea flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ▢ ¾ cup boiling water

TOPPING

• ▢ 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon minced green onion, white and green part
• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• ▢ ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
• ▢ sweet rice flour for dusting**
• ▢ generous amount of oil for frying

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Instructions

• Measure flour and xanthan gum into a food processor.
• Pulse a few times to mix the flour. With the processor running add hot water until the mixture comes together as dough. Remove from processor and flatten into a disk. Cover with plastic and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Use a small amount of sweet rice flour to dust the dough as you roll it out to a 10-inch circle.
• Spread sesame oil over top of dough.
• Sprinkle with salt, green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds.
  
• Using your hands roll the dough into a long rope.
• Pinch the ends then starting at one end coil the dough into a circle. Flatten it withy our hands then roll the coil into a 10-inch or 11-inch circle. Flip it over a few times dusting it with small amounts of flour to prevent it from sticking to the counter.
  
• Sprinkle additional sesame seeds on top pressing into the dough, if desired.
• Heat oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat.
• When very hot gently place the round of dough into the frying pan.
• Cook turning every 2 minutes until golden brown and cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
  
• Cut in wedges and serve warm. Best eaten the day it is made.
  

Notes

*EGFG flour blend: sweet rice flour (300g), potato starch (300g), sorghum flour (200g), millet flour (200g)

**Tapioca starch and sweet rice flour are both good choices for dusting dough. Avoid using a flour blend that has a binder in it.