I'm having trouble with my steamed buns. They don't seem to be steaming correctly. If I put them in the steamer for too long then the dough goes soft and molten and gets really sticky and they get stuck to the parchment that they're sat on.
If I put them in for less time than this so that they're still fairly solid then they don't cook properly and they end up raw.
Either way, they don't seem to be steaming properly and don't end up tasting like the dough has finished cooking or steaming or whatever.
Recipe is:
250g plain white flour
1.25 tspn baking powder (5g)
1tspn instant yeast
1tbspn brown sugar
A pinch of salt
130ml milk (warmed)
1 tbspn vegetable oil
1/2tspn vanilla
I'm using mincemeat as the filling and combining it with flour so it doesn't make the bottom of the bun too soggy.
Method:
Mix the ingredients into a ball of dough, knead it for at least 10 minutes and then until I got bored, leave in the bowl covered with clingfilm and moist towel to let it rise.
Bash the air out, roll it out and make it into little balls, leave for another 15 miutes.
Roll the balls out, add filling, make into a bun and steam for 10-15 minutes.
Sounds like your steam's too hot, turn it down
>>7155492
I thought that could be an issue. I started with boiled water and then just left it on the lowest setting. Should I be using cold water and just allowing it to come up to a steam on a low setting?
Sounds like the exact opposite to me. As in, to get it cooked all the way through, you're having to leave it in so long the outside overcooks. Slowing it down would just exacerbate the problem.
Starting with boiling water is good. Everything I've read says to steam on a high heat, and I always crank the flame nearly to max.
>>7155521
Just reading around now, I've seen a couple of sites suggesting that you heat the water after putting the steamer on top rather than using pre-heated water.
It may just be that I'm using too much water though and that it's making too much steam. That doesn't really sound like it should make sense though.
>>7155525
I expect the room temperature / dough temperature makes a difference too. I'll see if I can find the recipe I use.
>>7155525
And now I'm seeing others that say full heat and as much steam as you can.
Confusing.
This is out of left field here, but perhaps start with the filling warm or room temperature? That way you're really only warming the bun part.
>>7155568
Maybe. I think possibly letting the dough rise in a warmer area might help as well since mine doesn't tend to rise much.
Here's the one I use, the salient part being:
>Let the dumplings rest for 20–30 minutes.
>Steam vigorously for 15 minutes.
>>7155611
Thanks. I'll give it another shot maybe later today.
>>7155611
What book is that from?
>>7155617
"Chinese Regional Cooking" by Deh-Ta Hsiung.
It's not huge, but it's got nice pictures and minimal bullshit in the recipes. Looks like amazon has used copies basically going for nothing.
>>7155571
Steamed bun novice here, but I haven't had a failed attempt yet.
If you're using a yeast dough then you should be letting it double in size during the first proofing, knocking it back, forming the buns, and then letting them sit (on their pieces of parchment paper) for another 15-20 minutes or so, during which time they get noticably larger.
Not sure on steaming time for uncooked fillings though as I usually just fill them with char siu pork. 15 minutes in the steam is ample to cook the bread and heat the filling to the point where touching it burns.
>>7155634
Thanks
>>7155639
Thanks for the advice.
It's the dough that isn't cooking properly, not the fillings.
I've got a batch of dough rising in the oven now. I warmed it to about 50 Celcius and then turned it off to stick the dough in.
I'll let the buns rise for a bit after putting the fillings in this time and then I'll experiment with different types of steaming, starting with full power maximum steam and then trying another lot on a gentler approach.
I've just finished making the last batch.
Worked out really well by just completely blitzing them with steam for 15 minutes. After that I left them to cool with the lid still on for 5-10 minutes and they came out OK.
They seem to have a sort of rubbery skin but they're cooked right through.
Thanks for all the help everyone.
I tried steaming buns once but the dough turned kind of off white and shiny
what was my problem there?
>>7156210
Was there anything wrong with the taste/consistency or just the colour?
>>7156212
I guess it wasn't as fluffy as in restaurants.
here's the recipe I used
>>7156220
How long did you knead the dough for?
My problem the first couple of times I did these was that I barely kneaded at all and that led to them having the wrong consistency.
Make sure you give it adequate time to rise after kneading as well I guess.
>>7156229
until it stopped being sticky on my hands. I let it rise for 2 hours
>>7156242
Well that's clearly not the issue then. How long did you steam for and did you steam it gently or furiously? From today's experimentation it seems to me that the more steam you can use, the better.
