A three-hundred-year-old Tianshui layered pastry — fermented dough laminated with a sesame-oil shortening paste, wrapped around raw lard and minced scallion, pan-fired on a heavy iron griddle (鏊子) and finished in a baking oven. The result: a shatteringly crisp exterior with a molten, fragrant interior that is rich but remarkably clean on the palate.
Lard pastries made with layered dough exist across northwest China wherever nomadic fat-storage traditions met settled wheat farming. The Tianshui variant is documented with over three hundred years of continuous production, maintained by bakery families who preserved the two-stage tàozi-then-oven method from the Qing period. The pastry comes in both round and square silhouettes; round is the older and more common form. A folk account circulates that the recipe entered Tianshui via palace kitchens, though this has no clear documentary support and is treated as tradition rather than record.
The crust shatters on the first bite; lard-soaked layers peel apart releasing a gust of scallion steam; the filling is rich and savoury with a clean, dry finish — no greasy residue lingers.
The two-fat lamination structure creates distinct textural zones: the sesame-oil shortening paste interrupts the gluten network between outer dough layers, yielding flakiness; the raw lard filling renders during cooking, basting the inner layers from the inside out. The tàozi pre-fry (approximately 180–200°C) triggers Maillard browning on the surface and forms a sealed crust that traps interior steam. Oven-finishing drives out residual surface moisture, collapsing the dough into a hollow, crunchy shell while the lard-saturated inner layers remain tender and fragrant.
Variations
A sesame-seed-topped version adds a nutty crust baked into the surface. A halal variant (清油盒) replaces all lard with sesame oil, maintaining the laminated structure for non-pork diners. The square form has slightly thicker skin than the round and holds heat longer.
On the Palate
Where Tianshui Lard Pastry sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour active + 30 min waiting
- 135 min
Mix flour with warm water and a pinch of yeast; knead until smooth; cover and rest 30 minutes until slightly puffed
- 25 min
Make the oil-paste shortening: combine flour and sesame oil in a 2:1 ratio by weight and rub together into a soft, pliable paste
- 35 min
Finely mince the tender white hearts of scallions; dice raw pork lard into small cubes; season with salt and mix together
- 415 min
Roll the fermented dough into a thin rectangle; spread the oil-paste evenly across the surface; fold the sheet in thirds, then roll out again; rest 10 minutes
Watch outFold and re-roll to layer the oil-paste through — keep the fat sealed inside so the pastry shatters into leaves rather than baking dense.
- 510 min
Divide dough into 50g portions; flatten each into a disc; place a generous spoonful of lard-scallion filling in the centre; pleat and pinch shut into a smooth round; press gently flat
- 66 min
Heat a heavy iron griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat; brush with sesame oil; place discs seam-side down; cook 3 minutes per side until golden and set
- 712 min
Transfer to a preheated oven at 200°C; bake 10–12 minutes until the crust is crisp and the centre feels hollow when tapped
Watch outTap the finished crust — a hollow centre means the inside has puffed away from the shell as it should.
- 82 min
Rest 2 minutes on a rack, then serve hot
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