I first ate a bao while a trainee at the Krishna Oberoi in Hyderabad but it was only when we started transitting through Singapore I saw and tasted so many variations on these and said to myself , why can’t I make it..so I learned and practised till I got it right.
These could be stuffed with roast pork to make what’s called Char Siew bao ( pronounced Cha Shao bao).But I like them with meat and vegetables separate
Flour – 250 gms
active dry yeast- 2 gms
baking powder- 2gms
sugar- 20 gms
milk powder- 25 gms
water -150 ml
sugar-20 gms
salt-5 gms
oil 25 ml
Sesame oil to brush .
Sieve flour.Add in all other dry ingredients.
add in flour and lightly mix with a fork and keep aside for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap.
knead lightly and add in oil and knead again till smooth.
scale into 8 pieces and shape them into nice rounds and allow to rest again for about 10 mins.
Roll out to a 3 inch/ 6-7 cm circle then brush with sesame oil and fold over.
Allow to proof, thand then steam for 15 -18 minutes.
These are great even rolled out and pan fried or deep fried and go well with Indian styled Chick peas curry or Trinidadian Doubles, which is another post by itself.
