Hohhot Beizi (Baked Bread)

Beizi is a leavened flatbread baked against the wall of a clay oven in Hohhot, golden and crisp outside, soft and layered within, coming in plain, oiled, sweet, meat-filled and ox-tongue varieties, one of the most down-to-earth breakfasts of the city.

Beizi grew from the food traditions of Hohhot's Hui district, shaped by northwestern Hui flatbread craft and local oven-baking technique, long a daily staple on the streets of the capital, ranked alongside shumai, oat noodles and lamb offal as a signature city food.

Beizi is best eaten hot, split and stuffed with braised meat, egg or pickles for breakfast, or torn and soaked in lamb-offal soup or milk tea, its crisp crust soaking up the broth — a hearty everyday taste of Hohhot mornings.

The crisp oven-baked crust, the variety of stuffings and the deep street-life flavour are what set beizi apart from other regional flatbreads.