Toasted Siopao Recipe 385

Steps:

• Dissolve 2 tbsp sugar in milk and water. Add in yeast, let stand for about 15 minutes - until bubbly. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients - sugar , 2 1/2 cups flour and salt. Then add to milk and water mixture. Kneed the dough. Add flour as needed until it's not sticky. Then place and cover it in an oiled bowl. Let the dough rise for about an hour. While waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the filling. Heat oil in a pan.Saute garlic, chorizo, toss in the chicken and green peas. Stir in hoisin sauce, oyster sauce and water. Add sugar then cornstarch solution. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside. Let cool. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Now, to prepare the dough, punch it down (yeah as in really do some punching), then roll it and cut into 10 - 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Then cover with cloth. Set aside for about 10 minutes. Then flatten each roll to form a thin circle. Place a scoop of filling in the centerthen add a slice of egg, gather the edges over the filling, then pinch the edges to secure and seal the bun. Place the buns with the seam upside down in a baking tray. Cover with cloth and let rise for about 15 minutes or until puffy. Brush buns with egg wash. Bake the siopao for about 20 minutes or until it toasts to a nice soft brown.

Steps:

• Heat milk in a microwave-safe container in a microwave until lukewarm, but not scalding, 15 to 30 seconds. Mix warm milk, vegetable oil, water, and eggs together in a bowl.
• Mix flour, yeast, and salt together in a separate bowl. Stir in milk mixture until fully incorporated. Cover the bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed if too sticky to work with, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into a smooth ball by tucking folded ends under. Place dough ball into a clean bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, 1 hour to 90 minutes.
• While dough is rising, prepare filling by placing pork in a bowl with soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.
• Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Cook and stir onion, garlic, and star anise in the hot oil for 2 minutes. Add ground pork mixture and cook until browned and crumbly, breaking up any large clumps of meat that may form, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in water; reduce heat and let simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally until filling is glazed but not soupy, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate filling until dough is ready.
• Preheat the oven to 100 degrees F (37 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Portion dough out into golf ball-sized pieces (about 2 inches in diameter). Arrange on the prepared baking pan with 1 to 2 inches of space between them. Flatten dough balls using your hand to 1/4-inch thickness, or slightly larger than the palm of your hand. Put 1 tablespoon filling in the dough centers. Gather edges of dough at the top; twist, and pinch to seal. Replace each bun back on the prepared baking sheet.
• Turn off the oven once it has reached temperature.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the warm oven and let buns rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C), leaving buns inside.
• Bake buns until bottoms are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl. Add water and 1/4 cup oil; mix into a dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, at least 10 minutes. Dust with extra flour if necessary.
• Warm up the oven for 1 minute. Turn oven off.
• Oil a large bowl; place dough inside and cover with cheesecloth. Place in the warmed oven until size has doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough. Keep in the oven until risen, at least 15 minutes more. Knead dough onto a flat work surface and divide into 12 golf-sized balls. Roll out each ball and fill with choice of filling (see footnote for my chicken and pork filling). Gather and twist the edges together to secure the filling.
• Place each siopao on a 3x3-inch piece of wax paper.
• Place siopao in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes.