Chinese Steamed Buns

• Baking & Spices

  • 300 g All-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp Instant yeast
  • 1 tiny pinch Salt
  • 2 tbsp Sugar

• Other

  • 150g water or 20ml more if needed

Found on chinasichuanfood.com

Description

Ingredients

• 300g all-purpose flour
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 150g water or 20ml more if needed
• a tiny pinch of salt (around 1.5% of the dough)

Directions

• Prepare warm water around 35 °C and melt the sugar in. And mix the yeast with the water. Mix well and set aside for around 5 minutes. If you do not want sugar, just skip it.
• Place salt and flour in a large bowl. Pour the water with yeast slowly to the bowl with flour and stir with a chop sticker.
• Then knead the flour into smooth and soft dough. At the very beginning, it might be a little bit sticky. Or you can simple resort to a stand mixer.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for around 1 hour or until the paste ball doubles in size.
• When the dough is double in size, get paste ball out and punch the air out.
• Then roll the dough into a long log around 1 inch in diameter or any size you want.
• Scatter some flour on your board and cut the log to small sections you like. Brush some oil on the bottom of each bun. Place them in lined steamers one by one (leave some gap among each one as they expand after steaming.)
• Cover the steamer and set up in a wok with enough cold water. Rest for around 10 minutes (summer) to 20 minutes (winter). This is called second proofing and can let the bun be softer.
• Use high fire to bring the water to a boil and continue to steam for around 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the size of your buns).
• Remove off the fire and wait for around 5 minutes before opening the lid. Serve warm or re-steam to soften before serving.