Mantou / Bao (Soft Chinese Steamed Buns) | Recipe

These soft fluffy clouds of goodness were what I grew up eating! I remember eating these as a child and dipping them in lots and lots of condensed milk. I hope you will make this and try a piece of my childhood!

Ingredients:

150g bread flour,

1.5g active dried yeast (preferrably fast-acting),

20g sugar,

80ml milk,

2g vegetable oil

Method:

1. Mix together the bread flour, yeast and sugar in a medium-sized bowl until just combined.

2. Roughly mix in the milk and oil before pouring onto your workspace and kneading for 10 minutes until smooth.

3. Flatten out into a rough, thin rectangle using your fingertips.

4. Roll into a tight log form the short-side up. Pinch the seam at the bottom to keep the roll tight.

5. Divide the log into 5-7 pieces using a dough scraper.

6. Place each piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper.

7. Let these rise in a warm, draught-free space for one hour.

8. Fill up a pan 3/4 full with warm water. Place the buns on a steaming rack on top of this water - making sure they don't touch the water directly.

9. Cover with a lid and steam on medium heat for 18 minutes.

10. Once steamed, open the light slightly and keep it slightly open using a cloth or a toothpick. Leave this for 3-5 minutes to prevent shrinkage.

11. Open the lid fully and serve warm with condensed milk.

For this recipe I used a multicooker to rise AND steam these buns without having to worry about using different pots and pans and places to rise my dough. 

Tip:

• To make this recipe extra decadent, fry these steamed buns for around 3-5 minutes to achieve a lovely crunchy exterior and a soft interior!