Bao
Bao Dough:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp fresh yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking pow
1 1/2 tbsp oil
Instructions:
mix sugar, yeast and warm water together and let stand 5 mins until bubbly and activated.
mix all ingredients in kitchen aid w/ dough hook on low 5 min
let rest 5 min
mix on low 10 min
cover bowl with plastic bag or damp cloth
set aside in oven for 2 hrs heat not on. optional inner light on for minor heat.
remove from bowl and onto floured surface
cut ball in 1/2 and shape back into balls
roll balls into tubes about 1 1/2 feet long
cut tubes into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces (8-12 pcs/tube)
cover w/ wet towel while forming bao to keep from getting too dry
to form bao: roll one ball on a floured surface until about 4” in diameter, slightly bigger than palm size and put about a tbsp of filling of choice in the middle
option 1: think of the circle like a square, pinch top and bottom together at one single point. pinch right and left side together in one single point where top and bottom had met. pinch diagonal openings together so you end up with about 8 points pinched together in the middle and twist the top a little to get the characteristic swirl
option 2: push one cm fold in and crimp, continue crimping around the edges lightly pushing the filling in the middle to keep it centered until opening fully closes with folds and then pinch and swirl to get the characteristic top pattern. You can get as many folds here as you want but probably similarly to option 1 at least 8. You can adjust the size of each pleat to your taste.