If you want to make fluffy homemade Bao Buns, this is the perfect professional recipe for you. These small steamed Chinese buns are the ideal street food and are seen on the menu of restaurants all over the world nowadays. Bao Buns are easy to make and can be filled with a variety of stuffings.
Add the milk and the butter cut in small cubes in a small pot and heat it on low heat or in the microwave until the butter is liquid. Do not heat the milk over 46 ºC (114 ºF), because that is the point where you start killing the yeast bacteria. So if the milk is to hot just let the mixture cool down a little bit before you add the dry yeast in the next step.
Add the dry yeast and mix.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pass everything together trough a sieve to mix everything well.
Mix all ingredients together until everything is well incorporated. If you want you can make this step also in a stand mixer (for this begin mixing on low speed and slowly add the try ingredients, then turn on higher speed and mix for 10 minutes.)
If you make the dough by hand just tip the dough on a workface and knead for about 10-15 minutes until smooth.
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to proof at room temperature until it doubles in size - about one hour. If you want to make the proofing in a professional oven, just put the temperature on 32ºC (90 ºF) and put the bowl inside.
Like written already in the article, you can choose between three options of shaping now:
To form each bun by hand, you first have to divide the fully risen dough into separate equal portions (I suggest about 50g-60g (1,7oz-2,1oz each). Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel while separating the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball into an oval flat form (about 10cm (3,9in) long and 7cm (2,7in) wide, and about 0,5cm (0,2in) thick). Before folding them over, pass some oil with a brush so they don't stick together in the middle. Gently roll over each bun with your rolling pin to even out the surface.
Tocut the buns with a ring mold, you first have to roll out the whole dough to about 1cm thickness. Then pass some oil on the surface of the dough. Now use a ring mold (about 8cm (3,1in)) to cut out rounds from the dough. Put the rest of the dough together and re-roll the dough until you have used up everything. Before folding them over, pass some oil with a brush so they don't stick together in the middle. Gently roll over each bun with your rolling pin to even out the surface.
Or you just opt for a burger bun-like form, which I personally find the most attractive and practical way. For this, you just divide the dough with a kitchen scale into equal portions (I suggest about 60g (2,1oz)) and cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel. Put a little oil on your hands so the dough doesn't stick. Now with little pressure form balls by rolling the dough on the work surface.
Place the formed buns on a tray with parchment paper or a silpat leaving a little bit of space between them as they still will puff up, and cover with a kitchen towel or a lightly oiled plastic film and let proof for about 30 minutes again. If you want to make the proofing in a professional oven, just put the temperature on 32ºC (90 ºF) and put the tray inside.
With a knife or a scissor cut the parchment paper between the proofed buns, so that in the end every bun stays on a separate square of parchment paper. Like this it is easier to transfer the buns into the steamer and they wont stick in the steaming basket.
To steam the Baos in a Bamboo Steamer, fill the saucepan about one-third full with water. When the water is boiling, place the Steamer on top and turn the heat on medium.Place the bao buns with the parchment paper in the steamer basket, giving them some room to rise and expand upon cooking. Put the lid on the top steamer basket and steam for about 10 minutes. You’ll need to do this in batches. Transfer the steamed ones to a tray and cover them with a kitchen towel until serving.
To steam the Baos in the oven, remove the tray of bao buns from the oven. Turn on the steam and increase the temperature to 100 ºC (212 ºF). Once the steam oven has come to temperature, place the tray of bao buns back inside and steam them for 10 minutes.