How to make
This is the new total hit among the so-called street food - Asian Bao Buns or Gua Bao. Increasingly popular in Europe and the United States, they are the new popular stuffed bread. Traditionally, their stuffing is pork, but they can also be entirely vegetarian, with fish or made with as many fillings as you can think of.
I'm sharing the basic recipe for these great Bao Buns with you and what you will fill them with, I'll leave to your imagination and preferences.
Their preparation is simple and the only rule is to steam them. This can be done with a special device for the purpose or with an improvised one.
The Chinese make them in a bamboo steamer, which makes them turn out wonderful, but I assure you that without it you will get great results.
Dissolve the yeast in the milk, which you have previously warmed to body temperature.
Add the flour and salt and knead a smooth, soft but non-stick dough. Sprinkle your worktop with flour until it stops sticking to your fingers. The dough is quite hydrated and try to make it elastic by kneading it more and not by adding too much flour.
From the dough, make 6-7 identical balls and put them in paper muffin cups. You can grease them to make it easier to separate the buns when they are ready.
Arrange them at a short distance in a container, which will be convenient for steaming in makeshift conditions or directly in the appliance, if you have one. Cover them with a lid, which allows them to have room to rise.
Leave them aside for 10-15 minutes, then put them to steam for 20 minutes.
When they are ready, remove the lid immediately and serve them warm. In fact, it is always recommended to serve them warm, but I can also tell you, that they are great once they cool, but only on the same day of their preparation.
Perhaps this recommendation comes from the fact that some recipes for Bao Buns add vinegar, which makes them slightly tough and after cooling they become very tough. That's why I don't add vinegar.
In any case, the buns are for direct consumption and shouldn't be stored for the next day.
The shape of the buns is not necessarily a round ball, but sometimes they are also available in a flatter shape, which can be folded once the filling is added. In our case, at home, the ball shape is the easier option, because it takes up less space and we do not have large steamers, which can fit more buns.
Well, it is possible, if they are made in two or three batches.
The finished version of our Bao Buns are cut in the middle - crosswise, like a hamburger bun and filled with the desired filling.
It is desirable that the filling is prepared in advance.
Enjoy your meal!
