The recipe makes eight smaller bao buns. The entire cooking requires about two hours as it involves letting the dough rise. You can freeze the steamed bao. After the baos cool down, individually wrap them with plastic film and freeze.

Ingredients

Dough

• Hakuriki Flour (Bread, Pizza flour) 150g (10 TBS)
• Kyoriki Flour (Cake, Pastry, Tempura flour) 50g (10 TSP)
• Sugar 15g ( 3 TSP)
• Salt 3g (0.60 TSP)
• Dry yeast 3g (0.60 TSP)
• Baking Powder 4g (0.80 TSP)
• Water 110g (7 TBS & 1 TSP)

Filling

• Ground Pork 150g (5.29 oz)
• Naganegi (Green Onion/Scallion) 1
• Canned Shirakiku Bamboo Shoots 70g (2.46 oz)
• Dried Shiitake Mushrooms 6g (0.21 oz)
• Fresh Ginger Root 1 piece (1/2-3/4 inch) (Substitute with tubed ginger)
• Soy Sauce 1 TBS
• Oyster Sauce 1 TSP
• Sesame Oil 1 TBS
• Cooking Sake (Mirin or similar) 1 TBS
• Salt & Pepper 1 pinch
  
  

Preparation

** Reconstitute the dried shiitake mushroom in tap water.

Dough

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, dry yeast, baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add water 30-40C (86-106F) – DO NOT use hot water
3. Knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth
4. Cover with a sheet of plastic
5. Leave it until the mixture becomes double in size.

While the mixture is rising, let’s prepare the filling.

Filling

1. Chop up the white part of Naganegi or green onions
2. Chop up the ginger
3. Chop up the reconstituted Shiitake mushrooms (squeeze out the water before chopping)
4. Chop up the bamboo shoots
5. In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork & above 1) thru 4) ingredients
6. Combine soy sauce, cooking sake, sesame oil, oyster sauce, Salt and Pepper
7. Mix well until the mixture gets slightly sticky
8. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate until the dough becomes ready to assemble
   
   

Post 1st Rising of the Dough

1. Remove the dough from the bowl to the cutting board.
2. Punch and knead the dough to release gas from the rising process and finish it to a smooth ball.
3. Cut the ball into eight equal pieces (about 40g/1.41 oz.).
4. Make a round shape for each piece.
5. Rest the dough for 15 minutes under moist dishtowel to prevent drying.
6. Stretch each down in a circular way like store-bought Gyoza dumpling dough (a little thicker in the middle and thinner outer edge).
7. Fill in each wrapper with one of the 8^th divided fillings.
8. Set individual bun on the cut parchment paper. (DO NOT use wax paper).
9. Place buns in a steamer and let them rise for 15 minutes.
10. While the Baos are rising, boil water.
11. Steam for 12-13 minutes on medium heat.

Enjoy!

– Submitted by Yoshi Moritani