Dessert Steamed Buns

Steamed Buns

Dough

1.5 - 2 Cups of Cake Flour (has lower protein levels resulting in less chewy buns)
Extra flour for kneading and rolling out
3/4 Cup of warm water
1 package of dry yeast
2 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of baking soda
1 tbs of olive oil for dough
2 tbs of olive oil (for greasing bowl)
1 tbs of baking powder
Boil water in your hot pot or kettle

Filling Ideas 

(Easily made or prepared while waiting for dough to rise)

Apple  Peach Filling
Chop 2 peaches
Apple Sauce
Cinnamon to taste
Heat in a frying pan until warm and bubbly

Spicy Pear Apple Filling
3 half pears from a jar
1 tsp of Brown sugar
Apple sauce
Ground Red Pepper to taste
Paprika 1/8th a teaspoon
Heat in a frying pan until warm and bubbly

Cherry and Nutella Filling
Nutella
Marachino Cherries (because they are pitless and I'm lazy, pitted fresh cherries will work too)

DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS

• Pour the 3/4 cup of warm water into a bowl.
• Sprinkle the packet of yeast on top of the water
• Sprinkle two 2 tbs of sugar over the yeast
• Wait for the yeast to form small bubbles, also the smell of the yeast should increase
• Set aside

• Sift a cup of flour into a bowl
• Add in 1 tbs of baking soda
• Add in 1 tbs of baking powder
• Add in 1 tbs of oil
• Pour in yeast mixture
• Stir and sprinkle in more flour until the dough is forming into a raggedy ball
• Put the dough into your stand mixer with the dough hook until the dough is shiny and smooth
• Add tiny bit of water or sift in more flour if needed
• Move the the dough out of the mixer bowl to the previous bowl you were using
• Grease your mixer bowl with the 2 tbs of oil on a paper towel
• Put the dough in the greased bowl
• Wet a towel with hot or boiling water so it's damp not dripping
• Cover the bowl with the wet towel
• Place bowl in a warm spot (places I use)
• Oven put on warm for 5 minutes then shut off before putting it in
• Outside in the direct sun
• Wait 3 hours, checking that the towel is still wet on occasion
• During these three hours prepare the filling or fillings you want 
• See above
• Put fillings in bowls with in easy reach, with spoons 

• Create a space for rolling out the dough
• I used my Sili mat, with a bit of foil under the very edges made into tiny walls to contain the flour
• If you put it under completely the whole set up will slide
• Before I had a sili mat I used Plastic Wrap on my dinning room table
• Rolling pin
• Pizza Cutter
• Sift flour over the mat and the rolling pin

• Punch down the dough
• Place dough on the mat.
• Kneed dough until smooth again
• Seperate a third of the dough roll out into a long rectangle.
• Use the pizza cutter to cut into squares
• Prep a square by using your fingers to push the dough toward the center of the square 
• This will make it a bit more round
• Make an impression in your raised center.
•  Add in filling into the center
• Sometimes I spread of brush a bit of the more liquidy flavor from the filling on to the edges of the square

• Lift and fold the four corners toward the center, pinch together
• Lift and fold in to the center the four new points pinch together and finish off with a twist
• Steam
• I have a metal pan steamer 
• so I cut parchment to cover 3/4 of the bottom of the pan so steam can still rise up
• And put a my towel from earlier folded under the lid to absorb the steam so it doesn't drip back down
• Steam in small batches for 12-15 minutes until the dough is cooked
• Be careful steam can burn! Make sure whatever method you are using to steam your buns you read up on some safety tips.
• Let cool on a plate
• Best eaten right away!
• But if you need to wait store in an air tight container, 
• use parchment paper to separate the layers
• Put in fridge
• When you do eat, microwave with a wet paper towel over the top