There is a saying in Guanzhong that Dali tastes strange, and half of the biscuits are sold. This half cake is golden in color, like a crescent moon, hollow and full, crisp and delicious, so it is called crescent moon cake.
Crescent sesame seed cake is a traditional food in Dali, named after its crescent shape. The raw materials are flour, refined salt, alkaline noodles, sesame seeds, fennel and rapeseed oil, which are made by three processes: kneading noodles, making blanks and baking. Features: crispy outer skin and soft inner pulp, which can be eaten hot or cold. When eating mutton in the basin, use this cake to sandwich mutton, which is full of flavor.
"According to legend, a long time ago, there was a young man selling cakes in Tongzhou City, named Wang Weicheng. He is hardworking and kind. He lost his mother when he was a child and followed his father to sell baked wheat cakes. Shortly after his father died, he sold cakes alone and lived a hard life. One day, Chang 'e in the moon palace turned into a poor old woman and came to the acropolis furnace. Seeing that the old man was hungry and miserable, Cheng Wei helped him sit down, baked a soft hot cake and served noodles. A few days later, the old man taught him the craft of baking crescent cakes. His business is getting more and more prosperous, and crescent moon cakes have been passed down to this day. "This is a wonderful legend. It is also a compliment to the delicious and beautiful crescent moon cakes, and it is also a compliment to hardworking and kind ordinary people.
To make crescent cakes, you should not only mix flour, but also knead a little lard in the flour, which is the key to make crescent cakes soft and fragrant. Many times, lard is not so terrible. In many pasta and dishes, lard is a delicious secret weapon. You can pick out the fat you usually buy and store it together, and then put it in a non-stick pan without oil. A small fire is slowly boiled out, and a small bowl is enough. After natural cooling, cover it.
How to make specific crescent moon cakes? Bian Xiao introduces you to the method of making crescent sesame cakes:
Composition details:
250g flour, 100ml warm water, 5g yeast powder, 1 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon lard,1tablespoon edible oil.
Practice steps:
1. Mix the salt, sugar and flour evenly, pour the yeast powder into warm water (about 40 degrees, it is advisable not to burn your fingers), let it stand for 5 minutes, then pour the yeast powder into the flour, knead it into a uniform dough, cover it with plastic wrap, ferment it for 30 minutes, then knead it until it is smooth, then split it in two, take half of the dough, cover it with plastic wrap, and keep it in a warm place.
2. Knead the two fermented doughs into balls respectively, and after exhausting the gas inside, knead them into long strips and divide them into doughs with uniform size;
3. Knead the dough with lard, roll out the dough without lard, wrap the oily dough inside and seal it tightly;
4. Seal the wrapped dough upward, roll it into a round cake shape, brush a little cooking oil on the upward side, wrap it into a bun shape, and roll it into an oval long cake shape;
5. Don't put oil in the pot. After the pot is burned to a certain temperature, put the cake in, bake one side and then turn it over to bake the other side. Color changes on both sides, and a pat with a shovel will make a fluffy sound. Cut the baked cake from the middle to make a crescent cake.
Production skills:
1. The use of high-gluten flour in making this cake can make the finished product taste tough.
2. Adding sugar to the dough can make the dough ferment better, and a little sugar can stimulate the aroma of the dough.
3. Be patient when baking the cake. Burn slowly with a small fire. Don't worry about turning them over. I roughly estimated that the time for baking one side is about 6 minutes.
It's best to cut the crescent cake while it's hot. When it's cold, the incision will not look good. After cutting, you can use a knife to make a slight stroke in the cake, which is a pocket-shaped crescent cake.
Crescent moon cakes are generally eaten in a pot with mutton, with shredded pepper and garlic slices. They are simple and unrestrained in Guanzhong area and have a unique flavor.