Making soft shortening. The only way to get layers of crispness in pastry making is to use fat to separate the layers of pastry, both Chinese and Western, as in the classic French croissant, which is a thin layer of butter sandwiched between layers of leavened pastry.

Additions

For the bacon butties:

Crust:

1) Medium-gluten flour: 300 grams

2) Water: 175 grams

3) Salt: 1/4 teaspoon (teaspoon)

Soft shortening:

1) Low-gluten flour: 70 grams

2) Pepper: 2 grams

3) Salt: 3 grams

4) Peanut oil: 50 grams. The original recipe for Li Lian Gui's Big Biscuits called for the use of fats from the bacon making process, and subsequent recipes have suggested that a similar effect can be achieved by utilizing lard and other fats that are heated up and then poured over peppercorns and other spices.

How to make it:

The first step is to make the crust dough. Pour 300 grams of medium gluten flour on a board and use a spatula or other tool to make a nest in the center of the flour. The diameter of this nest should be as large as possible so that when the water is poured in, the water level is lower and does not leak out easily.

Pour 175 grams of water into the center of the flour, add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and mix well with your hands.

Then carefully mix the flour on the inside into the water a little at a time, making sure to do so gently, and when the water has turned into a very sticky batter, bring all the flour together to form a dough.

Keep kneading this dough with your hands until it becomes even and smooth, a process that takes about 15 minutes. Spread some peanut oil on the surface of the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in a corner of the board to rest and relax for 20 minutes.

The second step is to make the soft shortening. The only way to get layers of crispness in pastry is to use fat to separate the layers, both in Chinese and Western pastry, like the classic French croissant, which has thin layers of butter sandwiched between layers of leavened pastry.

First, in a heatproof container, put 70g of low-gluten flour (if you don't have low-gluten flour, you can replace it with 56g of all-purpose flour + 14g of cornstarch), 2g of peppercorns (it's best to freshly grind the peppercorns, as they'll taste a bit more flavorful; for the process of making freshly ground peppercorns, see here) and 3g of salt, and then add 50g of peanut oil to a small saucepan. Heat it up on the stovetop ( As hot as possible, but not so hot that it smokes)

Then pour it directly over the pepper powder. The hot oil will bring out the aroma of the pepper powder and mix it with the flour.

The texture of the finished soft shortening is such that it can be spread on the crust with relative ease, but without flowing freely.