Bread · Baked

Guang Bing (Sesame Flatbread with a Hole)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The hole in the middle wasn't decorative — it let soldiers string dozens of loaves onto a rope and carry rations during a 16th-century military campaign.

A round, sesame-topped flatbread is fermented until airy, shaped with a finger-punched hole in the center, and baked until golden, often split and stuffed with pork.

Why it's made this way: The bread is credited to Ming-dynasty general Qi Jiguang, needing durable, transportable rations against Japanese pirate raids.