HERMAN FLUFFY STEAM BAO

Chinese  make their Steam Bao

in 3 textures if not more, namely

a) a heavy but soft bao known as mantou, can be eaten steamed or deep fried

b) a fluffy but less dense than the the previous mantou

c)  a spongy and airy type 

The later 2 usually come with fillings.

for sweet bao we have red bean paste or lotus paste

whereas savoury bao comes with pork filling

My grandchildren love mantou

while my mom prefers the airy type.

What about you?

These fluffy and less dense bao

are on the sweet side

because I make them plain.

If you like to try your hands on it,

here is my recipe 

Herman Fluffy Steamed Bao

(A) 200g herman

      200g pau flour

      75g water or milk (to adjust consistency)

      40g sugar (reduce accordingly if making bao with filling)

      25g oil or shortening

(B) 3/4 tsp baking powder

1. mix all ingredients (A) to form a smooth & shinny dough

2. cover & let proof until double in size about 3 hours

3. spread out the dough on the working top

4. sprinkle baking powder on the dough & knead until incorporated

5. divide & shape

6. cover & let rise 30min

7. steam for 8-12 min according to size of bao

HERMAN STEAM MANTOU

Herman, 

when used to make steam mantou,

as in other bakes,

 it gives a sweet smell to the buns.

The texture may be fluffy as shown in the picture

but it is quite heavy.

The buns cracked because of over fermentation.

I left it left too long on the counter.

This recipe is the courtesy of Xiuli Zhang

Herman Steam Mantou
130g Herman
120g fresh milk
1/2 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
180g superfine flour

1. Mix all ingredients except flour, into a paste
2. Add flour & knead to a smooth dough
3. Let proof 6-7 hours (or over night)  until double in size
4. Divide & shape dough
5. Leave to proof 30-45 min until slightly bigger, if left too long, bun will crack like mine!
6. Steam for 5-10 min according to size of mantou

STEAMED SOURDOUGH PUMPKIN PAU

I am having so much fun exploring with Sourdough.

Using Sourdough in Chinese steamed bun 

needs longer time to proof

I have adapted this recipe from

Sonia a.k.a Nasi Lemak Lover

Steamed Sourdough Pumpkin Pau

300g plain flour

180g sourdough starter

180g mashed pumpkin

50g sugar

30g water, adjust according to wetness of pumpkin

15g corn oil

1/4 tsp salt

1. In a bread machine, mix & knead together all ingredients to a smooth dough

2. leave to rise until double

3. divide and shape into paus, allow to proof until double

4. steam pau at low heat for 15min

5. do not open cover immediately, but let pau rest in steam for 10-15min

FOOCHOW THOUSAND LAYER PAU

Steamed Paus 
are popular among the Foochow community in Sitiawan

Be it plain, savory or sweet
they like them all alike

The most popular one is no doubt 
Pillow Pau 
枕頭包
which is shaped like a pillow
with filling inside
http://my-humblekitchen.blogspot.my/2015/02/jianau-pau-pillow-bun.html

Another popular sweet pau is

Thousand Layer Koh

千層糕 or 千葉糕

When spoken in Foochow

'Ching Aik Koh'

Sounds like 

親熱糕

Today, they are fondly called
'moh moh'
where more types of filling are added


These paus are only out of the steamer after 2 pm everyday,
but usually sold out before Tea Break ends!

Sonia has shared her recipe here

Dough

350g pau flour
1 tsp double action baking powder
1 tsp instant yeast
40g sugar
10g shortening
200g water, adjust accordingly

Filling: 
125g roasted peanuts, ground
40g sugar
60g melon strips, chopped
10g corn oil

Method:
1) all dough ingredients go into bread machine, knead for 15-20 min
    until smooth, let rest 15 min
2) divide dough into 5 parts of 100g each
3) roll flat each ball into a square to fit the base of a lined 6" square pan. 
4) spread 1 square onto the base of the pan, fit the corners well
5) spread 1/4 of the filling onto this 1st layer of dough
6) cover the filling with a new layer of dough, top with 1/4 filling again
7) repeat step 6 until all the dough has been laid into the pan
8) put the pan into the steamer and let rise 20-25 min until double 
9) steam over high heat for 25-28min from cold water
10) turn off gas, and leave in steamer for 5min before removing 

HAINAN BAO

Hainan Bao

is commonly sold in stalls by the road side,

in front of coffee shops

or in the wet markets

If you like light, fluffy and springy bao

you will like Hainan Bao

Hainan Baos

 are normally white

and come with filling of various kind,

like tau sar and kaya

I made these Hainan bao with pumpkin

and 

used the remaining pumpkin 

to make the filling

Hainan Bao

350g bao flour

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp baking powder

40g sugar

10g oil

200g water (can replace partly with mashed pumpkin)

1) all ingredients into the bread machine, dough cycle to knead for 10-15min, until smooth

2) let rest for 15min

3) divide dough into 12 portions, shape into balls, press flat & wrap filling

4) leave to rest for 20min

5) put into steamer filled with cold water, cover & turn on fire to medium & steam for 20min

6) when ready, leave in steamer for 3-5 min before opening the cover & removing the bao

Filling:

340g mashed pumpkin

100g sugar

40g oil

2 tsp pandan juice

1) put 1/2 the sugar into the wok & add oil, heat up without stirring

2) when the colour of sugar turns light brown, mix well

3) add the remaining sugar, pumpkin & pandan juice

4) stirring at low heat until the mixture thickens 

5) let cool in fridge before using

PUMPKIN BAO

I fell in love

with the bright yellow Pumpkin Mantou 

that Melissa Ho Lee Cheen shared in Facebook.

The Mantou 

are so smooth and

looks so spongy and nice.

Melissa says the secret is:

choose pumpkin with orange colour flesh!

Pumpkin Bao

90g steamed pumpkin puree

330g bao flour

15g milk powder

80g sugar

60g water

15g oil

5g baking powder

3g yeast

1. All ingredients into the bread machine, knead for 1/2 an hour

2. let it rise for 15min, divide & shape into bao, or wrap filling if using

3. Let rise another 25-30min

4. Mist buns with water and steam on HIGH for 10-12 min depend on size of bao

Filling:

110g black sesame powder

60g sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp oil

50g boiling water

1. combine black sesame powder, sugar, salt & oil

2. pour boiling water over & mix well

3. put in plastic bag & leave in fridge overnight

Note: wetness of mashed pumpkin may be different in every batch,
          so you may need to adjust the liquid used in the recipe by +/- 10% 

MIKU STRAIGHT DOUGH METHOD

MIKU

is nice to look at, soft to the touch

and definitely wanting to bite into it 

I have tried many times making these mi koo

most of them come out wrinkled face

This is the first time 

with smooth and puffy face

Guess why?

I did not use my steamer

instead I steamed in my kuali

300g plain flour - sifted with baking powder

2 tsp double action baking powder
1/2 Tbsp shortening
125g warm water
75g castor sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp coconut milk/milk
2 tsp instant yeast
1/16 tsp alkali water

Method:
1) all ingredients in bread machine, dough cycle
2) let rest 30min
3) shape into 6 balls & place on parchment paper
     inside the steamer
4) let to rise 20-30min or until double in size
5) steam on high until water boils, turn to medium
6) total steaming time 15min
7) leave buns in steamer for 3-5min before opening 

Notes:
1) brush top of bun with slightly diluted red colour to give red colour

With special thanks to kimmy for the recipe

MAN TOU

Some like it plain

Many like it sweet

and yet many like it deep fried

But everyone likes it soft and fine

Man Tou

120g water

3/4 tsp instant yeast

250g plain flour or pau flour

30g castor sugar

10g vegetable oil

Method:

1) combine water and yeast and leave aside

2) combine sugar and flour in another bowl

3) pour oil into yeast water

4) pour the liquid into flour and knead well

5) cover dough and leave aside for 15min

6) roll dough into 13"x6" rectangle

7) brush top with water & roll up like a swiss roll

8) cut into 8-10 pieces & put on pieces of wax paper

9) leave man tou in steamer for 20min 

10) turn fire to HIGH to bring water to the boil

11) reduce fire to medium (steam total 15min)

12) off fire, and let sit in steamer for 5min before opening cover to remove the man tou