Peking Pancakes

2 1/2 c Unsifted flour

1/2 ts Salt

1 c Boiling water

1 tb Lard, cut up into sm. pieces

FROM THE FRUGAL GOURMET THREE ANCIENT CUISINES COOKBOOK Basic Dough Recipe for Boiled Dumplings and Peking Pancakes: Mix the flour and salt. Add the boiling water and stir with chopsticks. Add the lard. Knead all and let rest on a plastic counter under a bowl for 20 minutes. Roll the dough into a snake about 1 inch in diameter and cut into pieces 1 inch long. Roll each into a ball and then press out flat to make a small pancake. Brush the top of one pancake with sesame oil and place another pancake on top of the first. Using a rolling pin, and additional flour if needed, roll out the two pancakes together until they are about 5 inches in diameter. Roll all and keep under plastic wrap. To cook the pancakes, place them, one pair at a time, in a hot SilverStone-lined pan. Cook until tiny brown spots form on the bottom and then turn the pancake over, cooking the second side in the same way. When the pancakes are done they can be separated into individual Peking Pancakes. To reheat them, simply warm them in a bamboo steamer. Save work by using a tortilla press: Roll the cut dough into balls and flatten them with the press. Oil one, put another on top, and press the two. Then, using the rolling pin, finish the rolling out process. -----