Steamed Buns
Chinese steamed buns, done in various ways. This is the basis for many flavors.
Makes ~16 buns.
Ingredients
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp active dried yeast
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100 g sugar
- 290 g warm water
- 40 g vegetable oil
Steps
Combine water and sugar; mix until dissolved.
Combine flour, yeast, baking powder, salt. Add sugar water and knead into a dough. Once dough has formed, add oil and knead until smooth.
Cover bown and let rise for 30 minutes.
Roll out dough into a long rectangle (3x longer in width), about 1/8" thick.
At this point, there are are various shaping techniques. The traditional method is to tightly roll the dough into a long log. Slice ~2" wide pieces. (See Notes for other methods.)
Let rest for 20 minutes.
Place in steamer and steam for 12 minutes, until surface is shiny.
Notes
The ones I grew up with used Taiwanese brown sugar, so the buns were a brown color, with a slightly robust sweet flavor. As brown sugar has a different water content, use: 130 g brown sugar, 260 g water.
For sweet and savory buns, scallions and spices can be introduced between the layers, before rolling. Mix finely chopped scallions, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp of oil, then spread the mix over the rolled-out dough.
For a decorative look, can make the brown sugar and white sugar doughs and layer before rolling. See the links below for ideas, as well as the “flower roll” look.