Squishy Steamed Buns

Hello! Finally I’m able to get to writing this! I’ve been fairly busy with things around home, especially with my tasting menu done (pictures to come!), so now I’m going to share a recipe with you that is simple and produces absolutely delicious and fluffy results. SO LET’S MAKE SOME STEAMED BUNS! Be warned: you will need bamboo steamers for this.

Ingredients:

·      1 package active dry yeast

·      ½ cup warm water

·      1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

·      1 ½ cups cake flour

·      3 tbsp sugar

·      ½ tsp baking powder

·      ½ cup warm milk

·      1 tbsp canola oil

·      Parchment paper

Pour the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and let it sit for a few minutes (it should start to foam and bubble). Combine the flours, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the warm milk, yeast with water, and oil, and combine the ingredients until a dough mass forms. Knead the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticky, roughly 5 to 10 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough once to coat, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place the dough in a warm environment for 40 minutes to an hour so it may rise.

Divide the dough into roughly 10-12 balls. Roll each into ball form, fold up the edges of the dough into the center, and twist the center bit and press down into the rest of the dough. Cut out parchment paper squares that fit each ball and spread them out in your steamer (make sure each bun has breathing room). Fill a wok/pan (something that can hold 2” of water and is the same size as the bamboo steamers in accordance to the diameter) with water. Place the bamboo steamer on the pot and let it rest for 10 minutes. Place the pot with the steamer on the stove, turn the heat up to high, and reduce the heat to medium-high when steam starts coming out of the top of the steamer. Let this steam for five minutes, then turn off the heat and let it rest there for an additional minute. Remove the steamer from the pot, open the steamer, and allow the buns to cool.

So that’s it! Unfortunately, I don’t know if there is a way to steam buns without the steamer, but I definitely recommend getting one. They aren’t too expensive, and you can make delicious food with them, so what’s better than that? Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!