I love bread. I really, really do. More than that, I love baking bread. But, in China, I definitely do not have an oven and despite peer pressure, I'm not going to buy one. I'm just not interested in spending money on a toaster oven that I'll own for maybe 9 months.
Luckily for me, in the northern part of China, Mantou, or Steamed Bread is very common. You can buy it at the grocery store or market, but often it's dry {reeeaaally dry}. So, when I found this recipe on Yi Reservation I jumped on it.
I'm not gonna lie, I had a fun time in the grocery store buying flour {according to my co-teacher I actually bought bread flour} and yeast. I got a lot of use out of my translation app, that's for sure!
I'm not going to post step-by-step photos because Yi has done an excellent job of that. I am, however, going to post the recipe as I made it {he lists the ingredients in grams, and my process is slightly different because he used a bread machine and I did not} and show you the final product. As far as breads go, this recipe is fairly fool-proof and very easy.
Ingredients:
3ish cups of all-purpose or bread flour
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS instant yeast {I think dry-active would be fine, also}
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup water
2 pinches of salt {maybe about 1/4 of a tsp}
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine sugar, yeast and 1/4 cup water.
Let sit for 5 minutes and let the mixture become frothy.
Meanwhile, measure out flour, baking powder and salt {I usually measure out 2.5 cups of flour and then knead in the rest}.
Mix in a bowl and, add water and yeast mixture {I use chopsticks for this}.
When you have a sticky dough, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth but not sticky ball {add flour bit by bit}.
Put in an oiled bowl covered with a damp towel and let the dough rise for around 45 minutes {it should have doubled}.
Punch down the dough and knead for around 5 minutes.
Divide the dough in half.
With one half, roll it into a log, then use a rolling pin to make a flat rectangle.
Brush the flat dough with water, then roll it width-wise {so, you'll have a long rolled piece of dough.
Cut it into pieces {I usually get about 6 out of a roll} and place in a steamer.
Let rise for 30 minutes-ish {don't forget the damp towel}.
Steam for 12-15 minutes.
Try not to eat them ALL at one time.
YUM.
The next project? Steamed cinnamon rolls!
What have you been making lately?
Luckily for me, in the northern part of China, Mantou, or Steamed Bread is very common. You can buy it at the grocery store or market, but often it's dry {reeeaaally dry}. So, when I found this recipe on Yi Reservation I jumped on it.
I'm not gonna lie, I had a fun time in the grocery store buying flour {according to my co-teacher I actually bought bread flour} and yeast. I got a lot of use out of my translation app, that's for sure!
I'm not going to post step-by-step photos because Yi has done an excellent job of that. I am, however, going to post the recipe as I made it {he lists the ingredients in grams, and my process is slightly different because he used a bread machine and I did not} and show you the final product. As far as breads go, this recipe is fairly fool-proof and very easy.
Ingredients:
3ish cups of all-purpose or bread flour
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS instant yeast {I think dry-active would be fine, also}
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup water
2 pinches of salt {maybe about 1/4 of a tsp}
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine sugar, yeast and 1/4 cup water.
Let sit for 5 minutes and let the mixture become frothy.
Meanwhile, measure out flour, baking powder and salt {I usually measure out 2.5 cups of flour and then knead in the rest}.
Mix in a bowl and, add water and yeast mixture {I use chopsticks for this}.
When you have a sticky dough, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth but not sticky ball {add flour bit by bit}.
Put in an oiled bowl covered with a damp towel and let the dough rise for around 45 minutes {it should have doubled}.
Punch down the dough and knead for around 5 minutes.
Divide the dough in half.
With one half, roll it into a log, then use a rolling pin to make a flat rectangle.
Brush the flat dough with water, then roll it width-wise {so, you'll have a long rolled piece of dough.
Cut it into pieces {I usually get about 6 out of a roll} and place in a steamer.
Let rise for 30 minutes-ish {don't forget the damp towel}.
Steam for 12-15 minutes.
Try not to eat them ALL at one time.
 |
| {My co-teacher helping me knead} |
The next project? Steamed cinnamon rolls!
What have you been making lately?
No comments:
Post a Comment