Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Instant (Bread Machine yeast¹)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (double-acting)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup whole warm milk²
- Vegetable/olive oil (for brushing)
Instructions
- Place on ingredients together, according to your bread machine (mine has me putting the sugar, salt, milk, and baking powder in first. Then the Flour, and last the yeast).
- Set to the dough setting, and let the machine do the rest.
- Once the dough is done, roll it out onto your countertop/table. Knead the dough a couple of times to create a nice size ball. It shouldn’t be too sticky, but if it is, add a little flour as you kneed it until it is no longer too sticky. You should be able to work it with your hands without issues.
- Weigh out the bao into 48-gram pieces, then roll them into balls (you might have to do a pinch at the bottom and roll).
- Taking one at a time, using your rolling pin, roll out small circles about 4 inches (8 cm) in diameter.
- Then brush olive oil onto one side and fold in half (the oil side is the inside of the fold).
- Place onto the lined steamer basket. Repeat this process (roll circles, oil, fold, etc) until you fill the trays.
- Let them rest for 20 minutes.
- Get your water boiling, into your wok³ and carefully place your steamer basket into the water (I highly recommend using silicone oven mitts).
- Steam for 20 minutes.
- Take off the wok/pan (use silicone oven mitts for this step).
- You can eat them right away, they will be HOT! Otherwise, lift the lid and give them a couple of minutes to cool.
Notes
¹Instant Yeast works the best for all bread machines (mine is less picky I have been able to use dry active and everything turn out fine, but as far as I know, all bread machines require Instant yeast for their own recipes). So to ensure success, use instant.
² Milk Should be warm, NOT cold. It’s crucial that your milk is 105° F to 115° F Any warmer and you will kill the yeast. Not warm enough and you will have yeast in your dough.
³ Bamboo steamer and wok Information
It’s important to fill your wok with the right amount of water. The water must come up high enough to submerge the bottom rim of the steamer in water, preventing scorching. But it must also be low enough so that the bubbling water does not touch the inside of the bottom steamer tray and the food sitting on it (that ends in a gross mess).
- Start by placing the bamboo steamer into your wok (or another wide-rimmed, shallow pan, like a wide skillet).
- Fill it with enough water to come up above the bottom rim of the steamer by about a quarter inch to half an inch.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: bread, Dinner
- Cuisine: Chinese, Chinese American
Nutrition
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 118
- Fat: 1
- Saturated Fat: 0.4
- Carbohydrates: 21
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 2