Steamed Buns
– MANTOU / GUA BAO –
Definitely a project for the very bored or very committed. You can halve the recipe if the thought of making 20 buns freaks you out. Simply halve all the ingredients, except for the yeast. Note that these freeze well, though, and you’re going to spend half a day making buns anyway.
- 1 tablespoon active dried yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 60g plain flour
- 125ml warm water
- 250ml warm whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons groundnut oil
- 400g self-raising flour, plus up to 100g more
- 20 squares of parchment paper, cut to 8 x 8cm
- a rolling pin, lightly dusted with flour
- In a large bowl, mix the ingredients for the starter together. Leave to stand for 30 minutes, until the mixture puffs up and the surface becomes pockmarked.
- Add the milk, salt, sugar, oil and 400g of self-raising flour to the starter. Knead, adding more flour as necessary until you get a dough that just about comes together. It will be very sticky at first, but you should get a smooth, elastic dough after 5–10 minutes of kneading. Cover tightly with clingfilm, then leave to stand in a warm place (in the oven with the light on is perfect) until it triples in size – about 2 hours. Meanwhile, you can prepare the parchment paper for the buns.
- After 2 hours, turn the dough out on to a floured surface. Punch it down and knead for a few strokes. Halve the dough, then roll it into 2 logs, dividing each into 10 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ping-pong-size ball and set them aside on a large baking tray or clean counter. Cover the balls with a sheet of clingfilm and leave to rest and rise for 30 minutes.
- Flatten each ball in the palm of your hand, then roll out into a 10cm long oval. Fold the oval over so that it forms a D, then place on a parchment paper square. Put the formed buns back under the clingfilm while you finish the rest.
- Place as many buns as you can on your steaming platter, leaving about a thumb’s length between each bun. They will expand significantly! Try to steam the buns that were formed earlier first. Steam over a medium heat for 10 minutes.
- When ready, remove the lid before you turn off the heat otherwise water will drip back on to the buns, forming ugly blisters on the surface. Repeat, steaming the buns in batches until they are all cooked.
- Use the buns immediately, or reheat them for a minute in the steamer if they’ve gone cold. You can also freeze the buns for a few months once they’ve cooled. The frozen buns reheat easily: 3 minutes in the steamer and they become warm and pillowy-soft again.