Shanxi Food Stone Cake "Stone Cake" is a unique food popular in Fenyang.

It not only has the characteristics of crispy, salty aroma, rich nutrition, easy digestion and storage resistance, but also is deeply loved by people because of its unique production method.

Because it is made by placing the cake base on heated stones, it gets its name.

Stone cake has an obvious legacy of ancient stone cooking.

The use of fire by humans in the Yellow River has gone through a long historical process.

The emergence of the stone cooking method should be said to have a certain relationship with the consumption of human cereals, wheat and other grain foods.

Planting grain for food began in the Shennong period.

Shennong was a saint among the ancestors of the Yellow River, the legendary Emperor Yan. He was one of the ancestors of the Yellow River nation. He pioneered agricultural production and taught people to eat grain.

"Bai Hu Tong" says: "In ancient times, people all ate the meat of animals. As for Shen Nong, there were many people and not enough animals. So Shen Nong took advantage of the time of the day and the benefits of the land to make Lu and teach the people to work." However, it is not suitable to eat grains.

Barbecuing directly on the fire, the ancestors invented the method of "burning the grain on the stone".

"Ancient History" says: "When Shen Nong ordered people to eat grain, they would add rice and burn it on stones to eat."

Regarding the "burnt grain on the stone", it is also recorded in many other classics. "Book of Rites·Liyun" has "The burnt millet is used to smash the intestines of people. The uncle drinks the burnt millet from the cup, adds the millet rice to the burnt stone, and burns it."

"Make it cooked." "The sausage meat is processed on the burning stone and cooked." This method is to heat the stone and place the grain directly on the stone to cook it.

This is mainly based on the characteristics of slow heat transfer, slow heat dissipation and relatively uniform heat distribution of stones to achieve the purpose of controlling the heat.

This method has been used by later generations. In the Tang Dynasty, "stone cake" was made, which was called "natural cake" in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

This ancient cooking method is still widely popular in Fenyang.

There are two types of Fenyang stone cakes: white flour and bean flour. The latter is generally for home consumption.

Because people have different eating habits, white flour cakes are divided into stuffed stone cakes, sugar stone cakes and ordinary stone cakes.

The main raw materials are white flour, sesame oil, yeast (the ratio is 1 kg of white flour, 0.2 kg of sesame oil, and 0.1 kg of yeast), and alkaline noodles. For example, when making bean flour stone cakes, it is best to add some fried pockmarks, pepper water, and salt.

The filling is made from brown sugar filling.

General stone cake: 1. Adjust the yeast the day before making; 2. Sprinkle oil and alkali: Pour the sesame oil into a porcelain basin, and add the alkali juice according to the proportion (0.2 kilograms of sesame oil, add two wine cups of alkali juice),

Stir well, then pour in boiling water and stir again.

3. Allow the oil-alkali water to cool before pouring in the flour (if the oil-alkali water is not enough, cold boiled water can be used instead).

When it becomes cotton-like, knead the dough well with your hands, and the softness and hardness will be similar to that of dry biscuits.

After the dough is mixed, let it sit for ten minutes before making it.

Before making, wash the stones clean, pour into the sand, rub some oil (to prevent the stones from sticking to the dough), and then stir repeatedly to heat the stones evenly.

When making it, first grab a piece of dough and knead it repeatedly until it looks smooth.

Then, roll the kneaded dough into a round pancake.

Spread the heated stones around the griddle, leaving a thin layer in the center, place the round cake embryo on top, and then cover it with the surrounding stones.

Generally, about 15 noodles can be made per kilogram.

Filling the stone cake: 1. Mix the brown sugar filling in advance, add some sesame seeds, and mix evenly with the fried white flour and cooked sesame oil.

2. The production method is the same as that of making moon cakes, but the filling is only half of the moon cake filling. The rest is the same as the previous method, but the sugar juice needs to be prevented from flowing out.

Mixing sugar stone cake: 1. Dissolve the white sugar in boiling water before kneading; 2. Reduce the oil and alkali water as appropriate; 3. When kneading, use oil and alkali water first, and then add the sugar solution; 4. Other preparations are the same as before.

Bean flour stone cake: 1. Fry the pockmarks until yellow in advance, and be careful not to burn them; 2. Dissolve the salt into a liquid with boiling water, and then add the pepper water; 3. When kneading the noodles, first add the oil and alkali water, and then add the salt water.

, mix well, and knead repeatedly; 4. The preparation is the same as the barbecue method.

Although this method of baking food is ancient, due to the uniform heat transfer, it is not easy to burn and can be cooked thoroughly. It tastes salty and crispy, and is very delicious.

Nowadays, the value of stone cakes has doubled, and it has become a gift for people to visit relatives and friends and children to celebrate their birthdays.