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| Classic charsiu bao |
Recently though, I decided to deep-dive into making our own freezer stash of Hongkong-style steamed bao -- slightly sweet dough, that signature popped-open top, a size that went easily into heavy snack/small meal. I knew the regular yeasted doughs would produce a good siopao with a smooth surface, but i fixated on that flower-like peekaboo, a cushiony, not-too-bready texture, and of course a well-flavored filling of charsiu pork. Using my sourdough starter, of course.
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| peekaboo filling is peeking a little too much! |
The rabbit hole of what makes the ideal bao bun led me to Souped-up Recipe's Mandy Fu. Some of the ingredients she calls for are specialized, and definitely lean toward the alkaline -- lye water and ammonium carbonate, as well as baking powder. Why? Because the acidity of the fermented starter combines with these to produce a light, cottony texture that has no rise time and should be shaped and steamed immediately. I did this, hunting down baker's ammonia, and the yellow-labelled lye water that weren't available at my regular Asian market -- when I asked the owners, they said nobody used it anymore except big bakeries.
If bao are the only thing you ever make with a pre-ferment, by all means use Ms. Fu's yeast-based 3-day starter -- it is a build that gives you the exact amount you need for a batch. On the other hand, if you have a starter that is alive and well, a few feeds will get it to the point where it is perfect for this use.
Most steamed bao doughs use cake flour -- it gives a biscuity, less chewy quality to the end result, and is responsible for the steaming opening up the top because the dough is shaped but not too glutenous. I wanted something that had some chew, as well as enough structure to hold in the saucy filling.
It's still a work in progress, but this is by far the closest I have gotten to my own personal charsiu bao goal. It makes 24, because this is to stock the freezer!
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| Chicken meatball bao |
Sourdough build:
200 g mature sourdough starter
60 g all-purpose flour (bleached ok)
40 g fine rice flour
60 g water
Repeat the same 60% feed every 8-12 hours twice more without discarding any, so that you have approximately 680 g. pre-ferment. This will feel in between a stiff starter and a liquid one, because of the extra starch and 60% hydration. Let rise after the last feed until it doubles, about 6 hours to up to overnight.
Have 24 3x3 paper squares or standard cupcake liners ready, and water for steamer baskets heating.
640 g starter
266 g sugar
40 g shortening or lard
16 drops lye water
Mix until smooth, either with the dough hook or by hand.
1 tsp baker's ammonia
300 g all-purpose flour
60 g fine rice flour (360 g cake flour if you prefer, see above)
2 tbsp baking powder
Knead smooth, then divide into 50 g pieces. Keep covered. Dust the surface with rice flour and roll a piece into a circle. Thin out the edges with a rolling pin, so that the circle is about 4 1/2" wide (12 cm).
Center 30 g filling* and pinch the top closed into quarters. Try to keep the filling centered and the top not too thick. Place on the prepared paper.
Repeat to fill a steamer (but don't crowd them -- leave room for the buns to fluff), then place above the rolling-boil water. If your steamer is bamboo, enough water vapor will escape that your buns will have the needed moisture; but if your steamer cover is metal or glass, secure a kitchen towel around it to absorb extra water so it doesn't drip back down onto the buns and cause spots or sogginess. Steam for 16-18 minutes, tightly covered.
Remove from the water, but allow to cool for 10 minutes before uncovering so the buns don't collapse. Do the same for all the pieces, setting them onto a rack to cool out of the baskets.
Once the buns are all cooked and cooled, place them in a single layer in a gallon freezer bag and freeze flat. When they are frozen solid, you can stack the bao to conserve space and minimize air in the bag.
*filling possibilities: charsiu pork or chicken in a gingery, oyster/hoisin cornstarch-thickened sauce (pork/chicken asado); ground turkey or chicken or shrimp meatball with Chinese chives, lap cheong or yun chang sausage and hard-boiled eggs, either quartered or quail ("bola bola"); cornstarch-thickened custard.
