Steamed sourdough buns
Try these wonderfully soft and savory Chinese steamed buns. They will appear a touch pale because they are steamed rather than baked, but they have a chewy, satisfying consistency and a delicate flavor.
Ingredients
Title:Leaven
2 cups wholemeal flour
3 cups filtered water
For the second feed:
2 cups wholemeal flour
3 cups filtered water
Title:Dough
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp sea salt
½ cup wholemeal leaven
½-1 cup filtered water
Title:Filling
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp ginger, finely minced
¼ cup leek, finely sliced
¼ cup carrot, grated or diced
3-4 mushrooms, sliced
½ can (227g) water chestnuts, sliced
1 bok choy, finely shredded
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsp shoyu soy sauce
2 tsp arrowroot, dissolved in 2 tsp cold water
Method
Leaven
Whisk together the flour and water until batter consistency. Place into a glass jar or ceramic bowl covered with a cotton cloth and leave for 2 to 4 days, depending on the warmth of the environment. Bubbles will appear and cover the surface as the leaven commences its slow rise. Discard half the leaven and feed the remaining half with the extra flour and water. Wait 12 hours before using.
Always retain some leaven and feed it to produce more for later use. It can be refrigerated and brought to room temperature when required. A warm, breeze-free environment is needed for a leaven to prosper.
Buns
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and leaven. Stir with a wooden spoon and pour in water to form a smooth, pliable dough. Knead for 10 minutes to develop long gluten strands. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest and rise in a warm spot for 4 to 5 hours in summer, or 5 to 7 hours in winter.
Meanwhile, place wok over medium heat, add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, leeks, carrots, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Stir-fry for 1 minute and add the bok choy, walnuts, shoyu and the dissolved arrowroot. Stir until the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.
To assemble the buns, break off 12 golf ball-size pieces (4cm) of dough and roll into balls. Flatten with a rolling pin, keeping the edges slightly thinner.
Place 1 tbsp of filling in the centre, pull up the sides and twist to close. Place twisted side down on to greaseproof paper in a bamboo steamer, leaving a little space between the buns. Allow to rise covered for about an hour.
Steam for 15 minutes. Lightly spray with water to create a glaze and steam for a further 5 minutes.
Eat warm.
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