Recipe courtesy of Chef Jeremy Pang of School of Wok, from the Taste of London festival.
Classic sweet bao buns
These Asian-inspired sweet buns are bites of absolute indulgence, and they're great for party guests - just lay out a plate and let people get stuck in!
Ingredients
- 530g Plain flour
- ½tsp Salt
- 7g Fast-action dried yeast
- 40g Caster sugar
- 15g Baking powder
- 50ml Milk
- 25ml Vegetable oil or sunflower oil
- 300ml Water warm, 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 very humid, a little less is required
- 10g Cinnamon
- 90g Caster sugar
- 50g Good quality dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids
- 25g Butter
- 100ml Double cream
- 1tbsp Caster sugar
Method
Step 1
Preheat your oven a full steam function at 99 degrees. If you don’t have a steam oven, buns can be cooked in a steam basket.
Step 2
Mix together the dry ingredients, preferably with a free standing mixer with dough hook.
Step 3
Mix the liquid ingredients in a measuring jug and slowly add into the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Knead on a low speed for around 2 minutes, until fully combined then turn up the speed to high for a further 2 minutes, until the dough has a smooth yet tacky feel to it.
Step 4
Once smooth gather the dough into a ball, place into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth for proving. If you have a steam oven use the proving function and leave for 30 minutes, if not leave in a warm, moist environment for 60-90 minutes until has doubled in size.
Step 5
Dusting a work surface with flour first, take your dough and start shaping it. Section the dough into small pieces and then shape into traditional donut shapes by making a ball shape and poking a hole through the centre.
Step 6
Place the donuts onto a baking tray and cook in the oven for around 8-15 minutes depending on the size of your donuts (ones in the video took 10 minutes).
Step 7
Next, it’s time to to prepare our chocolate dipping sauce. Melt the chocolate in one pan and the butter, cream and sugar in another. Please note if you are not using an induction hob you must melt the chocolate in a bain-marie to avoid it seizing.
Step 8
Once the chocolate has melted take both pans off the heat and slowly add in the cream mixture to the chocolate, stirring continuously. Serve in a small jug or bowl.
Step 9
Once the donuts are out of the oven, heat a pan on the hob at a high heat with a small amount of oil to avoid sticking. Pan fry for a few moments on each side until golden.
Step 10
Whilst hot, roll them in the cinnamon sugar and serve with the chocolate dipping sauce.