Steamed Bau Buns

By kathryns

If the Bao recipe you are using have yeast as the main leavening agent, then you can do either. If you want to steam it the next day then you can leave the dough in the refrigerator to rise the first time overnight. ... You can even freeze the Bao if you make a particularly large batch. SEE PICKLED VEGETABLES RECIPE; SEE PORK BELLY RECIPE

Ingredients

• 500 g (17.67 ounces)Plain flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried yeast
• 50 ml milk
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 200 ml water
• 1 tsp baking powder

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 24mins
Cooking time 40mins

Preparation

Step 1

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a larger bowl.
Dissolve the yeast and a pinch of salt in 1 tbsp of warm water then add it to the flour mixture, along with the milk, oil, vinegar and water.
Mix it all together until it forms a dough (adding water if needed).
Lightly sprinkle some flour onto a bench or cooking board and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes or until it's smooth.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (I used olive oil spray), cover it with a damp tea towel and leave it to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
Take the dough out of the bowl and punch it down on a bench/board.
Flatten the dough with your hands then sprinkle the baking powder on top and knead for 5 minutes.
Roll the dough out into a long sausage shape (about 3cm thick) then cut into 3cm wide pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball using your hands then leave them to rest for 2-3 minutes.
Roll out each ball with a rolling pin into a flat oval shape about 3-4mm thick.
Place a chopstick flat on the surface in the centre of each oval and fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull the chopstick out (the recipe I followed said to lightly oil the dough and the chopstick, however, I didn't find it necessary but if you're dough is a bit sticky you may need to).
Leave the prepared buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover them with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Heat water in a large steamer over medium-high heat.
Steam the buns (in batches, depending on how many will fit in your steamer) for 8 mins until puffed up.