Main Ingredients:
Flour: about 300g; Old dough: 1 piece.
Additional Ingredients:
Vegetable oil: about 15ml; Water: as needed.
Flavor: Original; Cooking Method: Steaming; Time: Several hours; Difficulty: Easy.
Detailed Steps for Making Smooth Old Dough Steamed Buns Like Baby Skin
When making pocket pancakes with fermented dough, there was a piece of dough smaller than a fist left, which was stored in the refrigerator. This is how the dough ferments again.
It is full of air holes, and the holes are relatively large.
Add flour.
Mix the dry flour and old dough together.
Add some water, stir the dough until it forms crumbs, and when you can hardly see dry flour, add some vegetable oil.
Knead the dough, initially the dough is rough and hard.
Continue kneading until the dough, hands, and bowl are all smooth. Form the dough into a round shape, seal it, and let it ferment in the refrigerator.
This is the dough fermented well the next morning.
It has fine honeycomb holes inside.
Take out the dough, knead and press to release the air, making the dough smoother.
Divide into small portions, try to make them equal in size.
Take one portion, continue to knead the dough as shown, at least 20 times per portion.
The kneaded dough is very smooth, shaped with a slightly thicker top and a slightly thinner bottom, resembling a light bulb, which is the initial shape of the bun.
When viewed from the side, it looks like this. The reason for shaping it this way is that after the initial kneading, the dough needs to ferment a second time, during which the dough will sink down. If shaped into a round ball from the beginning, after the second fermentation, the dough will become flatter, resulting in a less appealing appearance. Shaping it with a slightly thicker top and a slightly thinner bottom like a light bulb will result in a rounder bun. If appearance is not a concern, simply roll it into a round shape.
Place them on a steaming rack, which has been greased in advance. I used a silicone mat, which works very well. Let them ferment again for over 10 minutes.
Steam over high heat, steam for 15 minutes after the steam rises, turn off the heat, let it sit for two to three minutes before uncovering. The steamed buns will be plump and white when done.
The surface is as smooth as baby skin.
The internal structure is also very delicate.
