Dessert Bao - Chocolate Steamed Buns #BreadBakers

 

Steamed buns are a fun dough to play around with.  In the past I have made mantou, custard filled bao, plain bao, and char siu bao.  This time I decided to try a chocolate filling, which was fun but very messy!  The ganache was absolutely delicious and I think the starch makes the dough so much more authentic in feel and final color.  My dough accidentally got two proofs, it was super active, but it still steamed up nicely.  I am not the best at shaping though, so my melty filling went to the edges instead of staying in the middle, this is why they recommend pinching off excess dough when sealing.  Whoops.  I think my sweet tooth may be diminishing slightly as I age, if you put sweet buns and char siu bao in front of me, I would choose the char siu!

How I would have liked them to turn out:  Filling in the middle!
Need more shaping practice.

These were fun to try and I really liked this bao dough.  Homemade is definitely the way to go: we had tried some char siu bao from Costco and they were truly horrendous.  Extremely sweet dough and a pathetic amount of practically meatless filling.  We learned our lesson on that purchase.  This homemade bao dough will peel apart in super soft, lovely, pillowy layers.

I had the wheat starch on hand from the custard filling I had made before, this is the first time I've had the dough recipe call for it.  Steamed bao are absolutely best eaten fresh and warm but they may be refrigerated and resteamed/reheated later.  It's a challenge with the chocolate filling because you want the dough soft and the filling melty but not scalding.  Even fresh, let them cool for 10 minutes or you will burn your tongue on molten ganache!  (And be wearing it down your front.)

Chocolate Steamed Bao
adapted from takes two eggs.

Dough
¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk, lukewarm 110°F
1¼ teaspoon (6 g) instant yeast
2 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (100 g) wheat starch
¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
2 teaspoon (10 g) baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon (15 g) vegetable shortening or butter
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon (15 g) vegetable oil

Ganache
1⅓ cup (8 oz) semi sweet melting chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream OR 2 tbsp caramel sauce + heavy cream to equal 1 cup
 

Chocolate Ganache:

Heat the heavy cream and caramel sauce if using in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl.  Bring to just under boiling temperature.  (Bubbles will form around the edges of the pan.)

In a heat proof bowl, pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Leave for 5-10 minutes to allow the chips to melt.  Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and velvety.

Chill the ganache uncovered for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Then cover with plastic wrap, pressing against the surface to prevent a skin forming.  Chill for another hour.

Bao Dough:

Stir together the flour, wheat starch, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix together on low.

With the mixer on low speed, add the shortening or butter in small pieces.  Mix for a minute until the fat is completely worked into the flour mixture.

Whisk together the egg white and oil in a small bowl.

With the stand mixer on low speed, add the yeast milk mixture and then the egg and oil, and mix for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes or until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticking to the bowl.  The dough should be soft and just slightly tacky.  Adjust if the dough is too dry or too sticky by either adding a tbsp of water or a tbsp of flour and continuing to mix.

Form the dough into a smooth ball with your hands, cover, and proof.

Place in warm area for about 1-2 hours or until double in size.  (Mine took significantly less time.)

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and quickly roll them into smooth balls.  Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent them from drying. 

Using a rolling pin, roll out the edges of each ball approximately 4 inches wide, leaving a thicker center. 

Add 1 tablespoon of the chilled ganache filling and wrap the dough around it to form a ball. Then pinch tightly to seal. Remove any excess dough at the end if necessary.

I might suggest freezing the scoops 
of ganache to aid in shaping.

Place each filled bun on a parchment square or cupcake liner. Cover with a tea or dish towel and let the buns rest for 15 minutes.

To steam the buns, wrap the lid of the steamer with a dish cloth to prevent the condensation from falling into your steamer, (if using a metal steamer, this is not necessary for a bamboo steamer).  Add water to your steamer or pan and bring the water to a boil. Place the buns, with their papers, 2 inches apart in the steamer basket, cover and steam on medium heat for 10-12 minutes.  After steaming, do not remove the lid - leave the buns to sit in the steamer for 1 minute to prevent them from wrinkling from the temperature shock. Finish steaming the buns in as many batches as required for the size of your steamer. 

 Cover uncooked buns with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator to slow down the yeast fermentation until ready to steam.

Allow the buns to cool for about 5-10 minutes.  Serve while warm. 

 Be sure to check out some more steamed breads from our other #BreadBakers: 

• Bao Buns from Passion Kneaded
• Dessert Bao (Chocolate Steamed Buns) from A Messy Kitchen
• Keto Chinese Steamed Buns from Sneha's Recipe
• Paczki na Parze (Polish Steamed Donuts) from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Buns (Sheng Jian Bao) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Steamed Cranberry Pecan Honey Bread from Food Lust People Love

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.