Cinnamon Sugar Bao Doughnuts

• 1 portion of bao dough (either from School of Wok’s Bao Bun Kits, or Jeremy’s recipe for bao dough)
• Vegetable oil, for frying

To serve

1. First, make one portion of bao dough: either from a School of Wok DIY Bao Bun Kit (available here), or Jeremy’s recipe from homemade bao dough (which can be found here). Place your kneaded dough ball into a bowl, covered with cling film, and leave to prove at room temperature for 10 minutes if using the kits, or 1-1.5 hours if making the dough from scratch.

2. When proved, remove the bao dough from the bowl, and roll it into a long cylinder. Using your hands, separate the cylinder into even chunks - 6 pieces if using the Bao Bun Kits, or approximately 10 if using Jeremy’s recipe. Next, roll each piece of dough in your hands to form a smooth ball. (Hint: while rolling the dough in the palm of your hand may be easiest, the School of Wok way to get a perfectly smooth dough ball is the ‘pinchy pinchy, twisty twisty’ method, as Jeremy demonstrates in this video).

3. Now, choose your shape! To make a traditional whole doughnut, simply flatten each ball with the palm of your hand and leave to one side; or to make a ring doughnut, flatten the dough before using your thumb to push a hole through the centre, twisting the dough around your thumb to smooth the edges. It’s up to you!

4. If you made the dough from scratch, finally cover the doughnuts with a damp cloth and set aside to rest for a further 15-20 minutes before cooking. Skip this step if you used the kit!

5. Over a high heat, fill a wok halfway full with water and bring it to the boil. Meanwhile, set your steamer up: line the steamer with either greaseproof paper or a silicone steam mat, placing the doughnuts on top and closing the lid. Transfer your closed steam basket into the wok, and leave the bao to steam for 8 minutes - without removing the lid!

6. While you wait for the bao to cook, mix your sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, as well as pouring your desired amount of condensed milk into a separate ramekin. Set both to one side for later.

7. Once the bao have been steamed, remove them wok from the heat, and the bao from the basket. At this stage, you can choose to deep-fry your doughnuts, or opt for the healthier option of pan-frying. If pan-frying, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully place the baos into the pan and turn once immediately, frying the opposite side for approximately 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Now flip the bao again, frying until both sides are evenly browned.

8. Finally, grab your bowl of cinnamon sugar mixture and, removing your doughnuts from the hot pan, roll the bao through the sugar.

Serve immediately on a plate alongside the ramekin of condensed milk, for dipping. Enjoy!