Quite disappointed with this recipe but am unsure cos there are too many new variables. First of all, the this is a new recipe and looks really simple - 7 minutes kneading, 7 minutes resting, and only proving 20 minutes. It was meant to solve all my past issues with ugly looking bao that are lop sided and have wrinkly skin. Second, my dough was a bit wetter than intended, which made handling the bao and sealing up the filling really difficult. Third, I follow the recipe and used the microwave to make the custard, but perhaps because I'm using a different brand and doubling the portions, it came out really lumpy. Next time I'll go back to using the stove even though it may be more work. Fourth, I used my new bamboo steamer so I'm wondering if that affected? I had my metal steamer side by side and also following the instructions, started steaming from cold so that affected all the timing and made it dry out yet uncooked inside. Comparing the bao from the metal to the bamboo steamer, the metal steamer seemed to keep the moisture in better and also there was more lift. Fifth, I doubled all the portions so perhaps it is still my fault in the end!
I might not try the recipe again for the bao dough but stick to the red bean bao dough recipe.
Recipe adapted from: https://mykitchen101en.com/steamed-corn-custard-pao-chinese-steamed-bun/
Ingredients for bao (upsized to 500g)
280g (2¼ + 4 tbsp) bao flour (500g)
20g (2½ tbsp) cornstarch (5 tbsp)
1 tsp instant yeast (2 tsp)
65g (⅓C) fine sugar (less 2x at 120g)
200ml milk (350 to 400ml)
20g (1½ tbsp) veg oil (3 tbsp)
pinch of salt
Method
1. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar and stir well. Add the yeast and stir.
2. Gradually pour the milk until a dough is formed. Do not use up all of the milk but only until the dough just comes together with a few dry spots.
3. Pour in the oil and knead until blended. If there are still dry spots, add as much milk as needed to moisten the spots
4. Knead for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough is shiny and smooth and no longer sticky.
5. Cover and rest for 6-7 minutes.
6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and fold into thirds. Roll out again and then roll up into a cyclinder.
7. Cut into 10 portions. Cover half of the dough.
8. Roll into a circle with a thicker centre. Fill with 1½ tbsp filling. Seal proper so that the filling doesn't leak out. Put on prepared parchment (Original recipe uses flattened muffin cases)
9. Prove for 20 minutes. (Original recipe has a complicated method of bringing to a boil 500ml of water, then adding 1 l of water and putting the steaming basket on top). Try to prevent over-proofing otherwise the skin will wrinkle after steaming.
10. Steam on medium heat for 15 minutes, then turn off the flame and let it rest for 3 minutes before removing.
Recipe feedback
Comparing this recipe with my red bean bao which also used 500g of bao flour, this recipe used only 2 tsp of yeast (so only 1 proofing) compared to the 2 tbsp yeast (Edit: this sld be 2.5 tsp) and the nearly 1 hour of total proofing time for the red bean bao. While the red bean had a wrinkly skin, the bao was fluffier than my corn bao, but still not as fluffy as seen in the corn bao video.
Aside from being very dense, the dough still tastes a bit raw and the taste of the oil is very strong. This recipe didn't work probably mostly because of the short or negligible proofing time and insufficient kneading.
I learnt from China Sichuan's char siu bao recipe that has more sugar, liquid, and yeast that uses a single proofing method (like Kitchen101 here) because it saves time and leads to more fluffy and less chewy buns. This differs from her red bean buns which proofs for 1 hour.
Single proofing method
- Her mantou recipe says to obtain a smooth surface, buns have to be well kneaded, not over-proofed, and controlled fire which differs between steel and bamboo.
- The second 'proofing' (after shaping) for 10 to 20 minutes until it slightly puffs up is actually just resting the gluten rather than proofing. The steaming water should start from cold and then rapidly brought to a boil on high heat. Start the count and turn down to medium flame only when you the steam escaping. The cooking time after from this point can take 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the buns and filling.
- Bamboo steamer has to be on medium fire but steel has to be high fire all the time and cooking time for bamboo steamer has to be longer ie between 25 to 30 mins (including bringing to a boil).
- The single proofing method requires a longer cooking time so that it can puff up. I made the mistake of turning down both steel and bamboo down to medium fire and assuming it's 15 mins for everybody. No wonder my buns from the steel steamer came out better cooked than the bamboo which was undercooked. I might also need to switch the steamer baskets around halfway. Kitchen101 used a bamboo steamer but her timings and single proofing method don't work for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment