INGREDIENTS:

Dough Starter:

    135g cake/superfine flour, sifted

    45g pau flour, sifted

    1 tsp/3g instant yeast

    A pinch of salt

    100g water

METHOD:

1. Prepare dough starter by following steps as described in Steamed Man Tou, OR bring a portion of starter back to room temperature if you have some stored in your freezer.

INGREDIENTS:

Main Dough:

    200g cake/superfine flour

    100g pau flour

    1/2 tsp baking powder

    6g soy flour

    50g castor sugar

    2 tsp instant yeast

   130g water

    70g Dough Starter

    10g shortening

For greasing:

    2 tbsp shortening

    2 tbsp castor sugar

METHOD:

1. Prepare main dough: Sift cake flour, pau flour, baking powder and soy flour into a mixing bowl. Combine flours with sugar and water. Beat until a smooth dough is formed.

2. Add in dough starter and shortening. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and close to the stage where a thin membrane can be formed when dough is stretched (Pic. 2 of Basic Sweet Bread Dough).

3. To prepare greasing, mix shortening and castor sugar in a bowl. Mix well using a spoon until sugar dissolve a little.

To prepare Hua Juan:

1. Divide dough into 11 portions of 50g small doughs. Roll each portion as shown in Pic. 1. Use a knife or cutter, cut a few lines on the dough. Leave both ends of dough un-cut (Pic. 2).

2. Apply the sugar greasing onto dough (Pic. 3). Twist the dough as shown in Pic. 4. Tie dough into a knot (Pic. 5). Repeat for other dough.

3. Cover hua juan with a damp cloth and prove for 30 minutes.

4. Boil water in a steamer. Reduce fire to medium heat. Steam hua juan for 10 minutes. Serve while hua juan are still hot.

To prepare Ying Shi Juan:

1. Divide dough into 3 portions of 60g and 3 portions of 130g small doughs.

2. Roll a 130g dough into a rectangular thin sheet. Divide sheet into 4 equal parts.

3. Take first sheet of dough from Step 2 and apply greasing on it. Lay another sheet on the first sheet. Repeat greasing and layering with the remaining 2 sheets (Pic. 6 & 7).

4. Cut dough prepared in Step 3 into strips as shown in Pic. 8. Join strips at both ends and twist as shown in Pic. 9. Trim both ends of twisted strips.

5. Take one 60g dough. Roll into a rectangular sheet (Pic. 10). Wrap twisted strips as shown in Pic. 11.

6. Repeat Step 2-5 with the remaining dough.  

7. Cover ying shi juan with a damp cloth and prove for 30 minutes.

8. Boil water in a steamer. Reduce fire to medium heat. Steam hua juan for 10 minutes. Serve while ying shi juan are still hot.

NOTE:

1. The dough starter recipe will give you about 4 portions of starters. Store the rest in air-tight container in freezer. Just bring a portion of starter back to room temperature when you need it for other pau products. Use it for making e.g. Steamed Man Tou, Meat & Vegetable Pau, Char Siew Pau (Barbecued Pork Pau) etc.

2. Hua Juan and Ying Shi Juan are types of Pau. They can be fried and eaten with dish like "Tong Po" Meat.

3. Unlike bread dough, dough for pau product does not have to be kneaded to the thin membrane stage. Knead until gluten is formed in dough.

4. Please adjust water content of this recipe. Remember amount of water required depends on types of flour used, type of liquid used, temperature and humidity of atmosphere at the time of making the pau.

5. Unless the dough is too sticky to work with, avoid using too much flour to dust your working surface. This may result in thick and hard pau skin.

6. Avoid water condensate at steamer's lid from dropping to the man tou. Dry lid with a cloth every time you uncover the steamer.

7. Don't worry if your product is not as white as those sold in the restaurant. This is because you do not use 100% bleached pau flour in this recipe. I mixed pau flour with superfine/cake (low protein) flour so that texture of pau would not be too chewy.

8. If you are not able to finish all the huan juan or ying hsi juan at one time, keep them in an air-tight container or plastic bag and freeze. Just reheat them whenever you want to have them. Estimated storage period is 2-3 months.

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