Chinese flaky pastry

Chinese flaky pastry is a form of unleavened flaky pastry used in traditional Chinese pastries that are invariably called subing. There are two primary forms, Huaiyang-style and Cantonese-style pastry. Huaiyang-style pastry is used to make delicacies such as Shanghainese 'crab shell' pastries while Cantonese-style pastry is used to make pastries like sweetheart cakes.

Method

Both forms require creating two doughs: a 'water' dough and an 'oil' dough. The 'water' dough requires mixing of flour, oil or fat, and warm water at a ratio of 10:3:4, while the 'oil' dough requires direct mixing of flour and oil or fat at a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1, which provides for a crumbly mouthfeel and rich flavour. The two types of dough are systematically folded and rolled out to form multiple laminated layers of flaky dough, filled with various fillings, and baked at a temperature between.