Steamed Bao (Foldover Buns, Guabao, 割包)
Adapted from Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan, published by Clarkson Potter, 2009.
Servings: 40 small bao or 32 large bao
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast (instant is more foolproof)
- 1 ½ cups water, at room temperature
- 4 ¼ cups bread flour (loose, not packed)
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (rounded) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup lard (preferably) or vegetable shortening, at room temperature
Instructions
- Add the yeast and water to the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with the dough hook. Add all of the other ingredients and mix on the lowest speed for about 8 minutes. The dough should start to cohere around the hook at least by the half-way point. If it does not, mix in additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it does. After 8 or 9 minutes almost all of the dough should have formed a ball around the hook. It should be just slightly wet and tacky. Transfer the dough ball to an oiled bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and leave to rise two hours, or until it has doubled in size.
- While you are waiting, prepare the steamer. You can use a traditional Chinese bamboo steamer in a wok, however a modern metal steamer with two steaming layers makes for a quicker cooking process. In either case, cut parchment paper into rounds that will fit into the bottom of the steamer rack, over the holes. You will need four rounds.
- Turn dough onto a clean work surface, cut in half and roll each half into a log. To make 40 small bao, cut each log into 5 equal pieces. To make 32 large bao, cut each log into 4 equal pieces. Then roll each of those pieces into a log and cut into 4 equal pieces. With a rolling pin, roll each piece into 4-inch-long ovals. I find the easiest way is to roll the piece out once vertically and then several times horizontally, until it forms a fat oval. Fold each one in half. They will not be perfectly uniform—they are handmade! Place the buns on the parchment rounds, cover with plastic wrap and leave them to rest for 45 minutes, or until they start to puff up a little bit. (They will continue to rise while steaming.)
- Bring the water in your steamer to a medium boil. Place the parchment round carefully onto the steamer rack and cover. Steam for 10 to 11 minutes for small bao and 12 to 13 minutes for large bao. Remove parchment round from steamer and transfer the bao to a cake rack to cool and dry, as they may be a bit damp from the steam. Repeat process, replenishing water if necessary, until all buns are steamed.
Notes
Eat bao immediately, or freeze cooled buns in freezer bags. To reheat, steam frozen buns for 2 to 3 minutes, or microwave frozen buns on paper towel, 30 seconds for two buns, and about 10 seconds more for each additional bun.