Soft and fluffy mantou dough rolled up into a peelable banana bao, served with condensed milk for a sweet and fun treat!
Author:Catherine Zhang
Prep Time:60 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes
Yield:5 Buns 1x
Category:Bread
Method:Intermediate
Cuisine:Chinese
Ingredients
Scale
Bao Dough
300g Cake flour (3 cups)
180g Whole milk (3/4 cup), lukewarm
1 tbsp Granulated sugar
1 tsp Instant yeast
1 tsp Vegetable oil
Yellow food coloring
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tsp Water
To Serve
Condensed milk, to taste
Instructions
Bao dough
Cut 5 pieces of baking paper at 8 x 12 cm / 3 x 5 inches
Combine the flour, lukewarm milk, sugar, and yeast, in a large bowl and mix until just combined
Then knead until a rough ball
Divide the dough in half, and color half yellow by kneading in a couple of drops of yellow food coloring until evenly colored and smooth
Knead the white dough until smooth
Divide each color into 5 balls
Cover the portioned balls with cling wrap and let rest for 10 minutes
Uncover the balls and flatten a white portion to remove all air
Roll it up into a long cylinder approx 11 cm /4.3 inches, and pinch the ends so they are rounded like the inside of a banana
Flatten a yellow portion to remove all the air and roll it out into a rectangle large enough to wrap around the white portion
Place the shaped white dough on the yellow rectangle and lightly brush the white dough with a layer of vegetable oil (this will help the banana peel later)
Then roll the white dough up in the yellow, pinching the steam and ends tightly to seal
Slightly curve the dough so it resembles a banana and place it on a prepared sheet of baking paper
Mix together the cocoa powder and water and using a small paint brush or finger, paint lines of cocoa powder on the banana skin
Repeat with the remaining dough
Cover the shaped baos with cling wrap and let them proof for 30-45 minutes, or until puffed up but not yet doubled in size
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-high
Place the steamer over the pot of water and steam the buns for 9-10 mins
Allow the buns to rest in the steamer after cooking for 5 mins