Roasted Flatbread

Roasted Flatbread

　　Made by kneading dough with fresh milk into round flatbreads and baking them in the unique eternal hearth of the Zang people using cooked ashes. The crust is crispy, the inside soft, and it has a rich milky aroma.

　　Using cornmeal, wheat flour, or buckwheat flour, mix with water to form a dough, shape into flat rounds, bury in firewood ashes, turn several times, and once baked, it becomes roasted flatbread. Some roasted flatbreads are imprinted with raised patterns using specially made molds, then pressed and shaped over a flame before being baked—truly an artisanal food.

　　Roasted flatbread is an essential food for the Jiarong Tibetans when traveling long distances, visiting relatives, or going to distant fields for farming or herding. When eating, the flatbread is cut open with a knife, and butter is sandwiched in the middle. It can also be filled with honey, cured pork fat, or pickled vegetables, and eaten with tea—it’s extremely delicious.

　　In the Jiarong Tibetan region, roasted flatbread is also given as a gift, especially during funerals and weddings. Guests are expected to bring a finely baked roasted flatbread. Even when visiting relatives or friends on ordinary occasions, it’s customary to bring some. It can be shared with the host family and, upon leaving, left behind as a gift—the hosts are very pleased.