Xu Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Food (shí) Character: bu Kangxi Stroke Count: 17 Page 1422, Entry 03 Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun): Pronounced bu (rising tone). Bu means a type of flatbread or cake. Correct Meaning of Characters (Zhengzitong): Bu refers to leavened dough. It involves fermentation to make the dough light, tall, and airy, then steaming it to form a cake. Jia Gongyan interpreted food as leavened cake, where jiao refers to leaven. Fu Weng stated that leavened cake is what is known today as steamed bread. Essential Techniques for the Peasantry (Qimin Yaoshu): Mentions bu. Sea of Characters (Pianhai): Variant form of the same character.