MANTOU RECIPES

Steps:

• Prepare warm water around 35 °C and melt the sugar in. And mix the yeast with the water. Mix well and set aside for around 5 minutes. If you do not want sugar, just skip it.
• Place salt and flour in a large bowl. Pour the water with yeast slowly to the bowl with flour and stir with a chopstick.
• Then knead the flour into smooth and soft dough. At the very beginning, it might be a little bit sticky. Or you can simple resort to a stand mixer.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for around 1 hour or until the paste ball doubles in size.
• When the dough is double in size, get paste ball out, dust the operating board and re-knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until the dough becomes almost smooth again. Divide the dough into two parts, keep kneading and shape each part into 1 inch thick long log.
• Remove the two ends and use a very sharp knife to cut the log to smaller pieces (around 2 cm wide). Try to keep the original shape. Place the buns to a lined steamer one by one. Leave some space among each one as the buns rise after steaming.
• Add cold water to your wok or steel steamer. Cover the lid and rest for 10 minutes in summer and around 20 minutes in winter or until the bun becomes fluffy again.
• Use high fire to bring the water to a boil and continue to steam for around 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the size of your buns).
• Remove off the fire and wait for around 5 minutes before opening the lid. Serve warm or re-steam to soften before serving.

Steps:

• Beat sugar, yeast, baking powder, and 1¾ cups (250 g) Hong Kong flour or cake flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed to combine. Combine milk, cream, and ¼ cup water in a measuring glass or small bowl. Reduce speed to low and, with motor running, gradually pour in milk mixture and mix until dough forms a ball, about 2 minutes. If dough has not formed a ball by then, gradually add more flour a teaspoonful at a time until it does. Continue to mix until very smooth, about 8 minutes more. (Alternatively, you can mix in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon or your hands until a shaggy, loose dough forms, then turn out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth and glossy, about 10 minutes. Place in a large bowl to rise.) Remove bowl from mixer and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let dough rest until slightly puffed, 30–60 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut out thirteen 3"-squares of parchment paper.
• Portion dough into 13 equal-size pieces (use a scale if desired). Roll each into an 8"-long rope. Tie each rope into a knot and tuck the end that came through the knot underneath the bun. Tuck the other end up and over the top. Place buns on parchment squares as you go.
• Cover buns loosely with damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until slightly puffed and marshmallow-y in texture, 30–45 minutes.
• Pour water in a wok or large pot to come 1"–2" up sides. Set a steamer with a lid over wok, leaving at least ½" of space between the inside layer of steamer and water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Place as many buns as will fit in steamer, spacing about 2" apart. Cover and steam until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer mantou to a plate. Repeat process with remaining buns, adding more water to wok as needed. Serve warm. Do ahead: Mantou can be steamed 2 months ahead. Freeze on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags or airtight containers and keep frozen. To serve, thaw in refrigerator overnight, then re-steam 3 minutes.