Next stop, Chinatown

On request, here is the recipe for the Beijing steamed buns that I made in school.  The recipe is courtesy of the Cambridge School of Culinary arts, and was a part of our lesson on lean doughs. 

It's a fairly easy and straightforward recipe, and although it seems to be complicated trust me, it's not.  Like all breads, it requires patience (something I struggle with on a daily basis).

Enjoy!

Beijing Steamed Buns

2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. whole milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. bread flour
1 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sesame oil


 Filling:
1 c. chopped scallions
1 1/2 c. minced Chinese ham
2/3 c. dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water, rinsed, dried and chopped

Place yeast and sugar in a small bowl.  Add the warm water and let sit to bubble for about 5 minutes.

In a saucepan, combine the milk and butter; warm just until butter has melted. Cool to room temperature. 

Combine the 2 flours together with the salt.  Place 2 cups of the flour mixture in a bowl and add the yeast and milk.  Combine and continue to add flour until you get a workable dough (tacky, but not sticky).  Remove to the counter top and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.  When doubled, punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured counter.  Roll into a large rectangle and sprinkle with the baking powder.  Fold dough over and knead for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Divide the dough into 1 oz. pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope.  Coil the rope and place on a piece of parchment paper cut to just a little bigger than the bun.  Brush the tops of each bun with sesame oil and sprinkle with the scallions, ham and mushrooms. You can either leave them like this with the filling on top, or place another coil on top to enclose the filling (this is what I did).

Fill a wok with about 1 1/2 inches of water and bring to a boil.  Place a bamboo steamer over the wok.  Place the buns, still sitting on the parchment paper inside the steamer and cover.  Steam for about 15 minutes, making sure the water in the wok doesn't evaporate completely.  Turn off the heat and wait for the steam to subside and then transfer to a cloth to dry off any excess moisture.  Serve hot, with the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce:
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. water
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Combine all the ingredients. Adjust if either too sweet or too acidic.