Chinese Steamed Bread

Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 4 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 24
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup warm water or 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Recipe

• 1 in a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over a mixture of 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup flour and leave for around 15-30 minutes.
• 2 stir in the remaining water/ milk, flour, salt, sugar, pepper (if using) and oil.
• 3 mix everything to a dough.
• 4 turn it on to a floured work surface and knead it until it is smooth.
• 5 return it to the bowl, cover it and leave it in a warm place for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until it has tripled in size.
• 6 punch down the dough with the back of your fist to flatten on a floured board.
• 7 sprinkle the baking powder over and knead for a few minutes.
• 8 shape the dough into 24 rolls.
• 9 keep each ball on a wax paper and let it rise for another 30 minutes.
• 10 you can place these balls on individual pieces of wax paper so you can use these to place in the steamer too for easier handling.
• 11 bring water in the bottom of a steamer to a boil first.
• 12 then place the rolls in the steamer, leaving a 1-inch gap between them.
• 13 cook in batches if need be.
• 14 cook them for 10-15 minutes, or until they are firm and cooked through.
• 15 do not turn the heat off before you lift the lid of the steamer as this causes blistering on the surface of the rolls.
• 16 serve them hot.