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Learn how to make kompia or Foochow style bagel the easy way but so delicious. The kompia is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is our new favorite bagel in the house. Can be baked in the oven or air fryer.
Guang Bing is known by many names throughout Asia. It is known as guang bing 光餅 in Chinese, kong pia or kong piah in Hokkien, Konben in Japanese, kompia or kompyang in Malay and Indonesian language. I personally think that it’s very similar to shao bing, but shao bing has some seasoning paste layered inside the dough.
THE STORY BEHIND GUANG BING
Guang bing was originally invented hundreds of years ago during wartime near the Fuzhou (Foochow) area between the Chinese and Japanese pirates by the Chinese General named Qi JiGuang (Can you see where the name came from?). The Japanese always caught up with the Chinese troops and the Chinese general finally realized that it was because of the smoke that rose to the sky from cooking their meals that gave hint to the Japanese of their whereabouts. He invented this bagel-like bread that can be cooked in a deep almost tandoor-like oven and it was a game-changer! This bread was named after him because of his victory against the Japanese pirates.
MODERN-DAY GUANG BING
The original guang bing were dry, tough, and flatter and would not go bad for a long time, which is really what the soldiers needed at the time. He punched a hole in the middle of the bread and strung all the bread in a string, like beads on a necklace, and hung the bread necklace on each soldier, so they can eat the bread anytime they want or need to (Smart idea!).
In this modern-day, most people want a softer guang bing and so you can see the guang bing actually looks more and more like the Western bagels, thicker and softer. Simply let the dough rises longer and you will get a bigger thicker guang bing just like the Western bagel.
HOW TO EASILY MAKE KOMPIA FROM SCRATCH
1. MAKE THE DOUGH
Place all ingredients, except for water, in a large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add water gradually and knead for 8 minutes in total.
The dough should be stretchy (windowpane stage). If it breaks when you pull it, the dough need more kneading.
windowpane stage.
2. PROOF THE DOUGH
Transfer the dough to a large bowl coated with a bit of oil. Cover with a wrap and let it rests for 1 hour. The dough will not rise much as very little yeast is used. It will just be a little puffy
3. SHAPE THE DOUGH
Preheat oven at 425 F or air fryer at 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a long log and cut into about 8 pieces.
Use your palm to flatten the dough into a disc, about 1/4-inch thick and about 4-5 inches in diameter.
Use a chopstick to punch a small hole in the middle (optional)
Spray the kompia with water and then dip the shaped bagel into the untoasted sesame seeds on one side and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
4. BAKE IN THE OVEN OR AIR-FRYER
Bake the bagel in a preheated oven or air-fryer for about 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. After 5 minutes into baking time, spray the kompia with more water and continue to bake. It might be shorter baking time with air-fryer, it depends on your air-fryer. Remove from the oven or air-fryer and let them cool down completely on a cooling rack.
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
The variations are really limitless, just like the varieties of bagels you see out there. I’m thinking strictly from the traditional guang bing point of view, but feel free to explore with any variations you like.
PLAIN OR WITH FILLING: Guang bing can be made plain, like in this recipe here, or stuffed with savory meat filling or any filling of your choice.
PLAIN OR WITH SESAME SEEDS: You can leave them plain without sesame seeds. We love the one with sesame seeds, they are so nutty after being baked.
WHAT TO SERVE KOMPIA WITH
1. Eat them plain
2. Treat them like you would bagels.
Spread some butter, jams or spread of your choice, etc.
3. Make sandwiches with them
4. Great to go with soups or stews too
HOW TO STORE KOMPIA OR FUZHOU BAGEL
ROOM TEMPERATURE: Once the bagels have cooled down completely, you can store them in a container or resealable bag or bread box for about 2-3 days. Anything longer they may get harder and stale.
FREEZER: For longer storage, freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet and pop in the freezer for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. They can be kept for up to 3 months in the freezer.
HOW TO REHEAT KOMPIA OR FUZHOU BAGEL
Oven, toaster oven, air fryer: Preheat at 350 F and then bake for about 5 minutes or longer if you want it crispier. For frozen bagel, you may need to add 3-5 minutes extra to the baking time.
Related Post: The Best Yogurt Whey Bagels (from leftover yogurt whey)
The outside is crisp but the inside is quite soft.
DID YOU MAKE THIS EASY GUANG BING / FOOCHOW BAGEL / KOMPIA RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe is last updated on November 5, 2020 to reduce the amount of yeast and to remove sugar. The result is to resemble more of how traditional kompia should be, less puffy like the modern bagel but crusty on the outside and chewy inside. Thanks to the valuable inputs and tips from my reader on how to improve the kompia 🙂
Easy Guang Bing / Foochow Bagel / Kompia (Oven or Air-Fryer)
Ingredients
- 300 gr bread flour
- 10 gr salt
- ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 10 gr cooking oil
- 160 gr water about 3/4 cups to start with
- 2 cups untoasted white sesame seeds or more as needed
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Place all ingredients, except for water, in a large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed and gradually add in water. You may need to add more than what the recipe calls for to get a dough that doesn't fall apart. Continue to knead for about 5 minutes. You may need to reposition the dough halfway and continue to knead for another 3 minutes until the dough is really smooth and stretchy
Proof the dough:
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl coated with a bit of oil. Cover with a wrap and let the dough rests for 1 hour. I used the bread proof function in my oven. The dough will not rise much because we use very little yeast, but just slightly puffy
Shape:
- Preheat oven at 425 F or air-fryer at 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After resting the dough for 1 hour, roll the dough into a long log and cut into about 8-9 pieces. Keep them covered and work with one dough at a time. Use your palm to flatten the dough into a disc, about 1/4-inch thick and about 4-5 inch in diameter. Use a chopstick to make a hole in the middle of the dough. It helps to dip the chopstick in flour first to prevent sticking
- Spray the shaped dough with water and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Gently press the seeds on the dough
Bake:
- Bake the bagel in a preheated oven or air-fryer for about 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. About 5 minutes into baking, spray the kompia with more water and continue to bake. Baking time might be shorter with an air-fryer, depending on your air-fryer. Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely on a cooling rack
Store:
- Once the bagels have cooled down completely, you can store them in a container or resealable bag or bread box for about 2-3 days. Anything longer they may get harder and stale. For longer storage, freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet and pop in the freezer for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. They can be kept for up to 3 months in the freezer
Reheat:
- Oven, toaster oven, air fryer: Preheat at 350 F and then bake for about 5 minutes or longer if you want it crispier. For frozen bagel, you may need to add 3-5 minutes extra to baking time
