Bao Dough Recipe

The Dry Mix

• 530g middle gluten wheat flour (swapsies, plain flour/all-purpose flour), plus extra for dusting
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 40g caster sugar
• 15g baking powder

The Liquid

• 50ml milk
• 200 - 250ml warm water (depending on how humid your room feels- if the air feels very dry you’ll want to add a little more water, but if it is very humid, less is required)
• 25ml vegetable or sunflower oil

1. Put ‘The Dry Mix’ ingredients into the bowl of a free-standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attached (if available).

2. Mix ‘The Liquid’ ingredients together in a measuring jug. Then slowly pour the liquid into the mixer while kneading on a low speed for around 2 minutes until all the water is mixed into the flour. Once combined, turn the speed up to high for a further 2 minutes until the dough has a smooth yet tacky feel to it.

3. Once the dough has been well kneaded, dust with 2 tablespoons of flour, scraping off any additional dough on the sides of the bowl.

4. Shape the dough into a rough ball, and then coat it lightly with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; put the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp cloth to leave aside in a warm, preferably moist, draft-free location (such as inside a room temperature oven) for 1 – 1.5 hours.

5. Once the dough has doubled in size, you can then shape it into whatever shape you wish before steaming.

6. Steaming time will vary between 8 – 15 minutes depending on the shape and size of your finished buns (the thinner the bun, the shorter the steaming time).