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| Steamed Bao, looks pretty ugly, tastes okay |
Because it's autumn, it's about 60 degrees in the kitchen. I used a double boiler with a covered bowl insert to create a warm, dark environment for the yeast to rise. It's really quite clever. I didn't even have to crank the oven.
Dough Ingredients
400 g all purpose flour (2 1/2 c + 1/8 c, plus more for dusting)
200 g filtered water (8 oz)
3 tbsp lard
4 tbsp sugar, divided
2 tsp instant dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Dough Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and three tbsp sugar.
In a measuring cup, fill with water, 1 tbsp sugar, and yeast. Stir a bit then let the yeast proof for 10 minutes; or until the top becomes foamy. Once the yeast has proofed, pour it into the dry ingredients.
Using chopsticks or your hands, bring the dough together into a ball and knead a few times before placing in a bowl large enough to handle double the volume of the dough. Place a plate on top of the bowl. I use a large dinner plate on top of a 5 quart mixing bowl and this seems to work fine.
Let the dough rise for at least 1.5 hours, or until doubled in volume.
Take dough out and knead on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into four equal portions. Put the other three portions into a covered container or under a kitchen towel. Roll out dough into a uniform log. Then cut the log into 8 equal portions.
At this point you can shape them into little mounds. Place each mound onto a square of waxed paper and let rise a second time (maybe 20-30 minutes), and steam for 15 minutes. If you wanted to make mantou (plain steamed buns).
Flatten each portion with the palm of your hand and roll it out into a 3 1/2" circle, or thereabouts. If it isn't circular, you'll be left with a blob-shaped bao.
Filling Ingredients
1 lb ground pork
5 nappa cabbage leaves, leaf part only, finely chopped
1 c shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, drained and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
Mix filing ingredients together. Set aside until ready to make bao.
