The ingredients, amounts, and tools used to make sakubei are described in "the Engishiki" (an ancient book for codes and procedures on national rites and prayers) in the middle of the Heian period, from which it is clear that sakubei was a noodle made from flour, rice flour, and salt (one opinion says the rice flour is not used).
索餅の材料・分量・道具については平安時代中期の『延喜式』に書かれており、小麦粉と米粉に塩を加えて作る麺（米粉は混ぜないという説もある）という事は分かっている。