Bao Buns | #BreadBakers

I fully planned on shying away from Asian steamed bread for this month's "Steamed Breads" theme. I've tried doing them before, and it has always been a relatively hot mess. I had mentioned what I was doing to a friend, and she immediately vetoed my first choice of steaming bread in a Bundt pan. 

So here I am, outside of my comfort zone, doing something Asian. But you know what? It wasn't a hot mess. Apparently, using an actual steamer makes all the difference. Who would have guessed? 

So step out of your comfort zone with me and try all the steamed breads that the Bread Bakers are making this month. Thanks, Sneha, for hosting!

Bao Buns

Yield: 16 buns

Ingredients 

320g flour 

20g cornstarch 

12g sugar 

3g salt 

3g yeast

110g milk 

80g water 

22g oil plus additional oil for brushing 

Directions 

Whisk flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add milk, water, and oil. Mix together until it starts to form a cohesive dough then knead for approximately 5 minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth but not sticky. 

Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature until doubled. 

Cut a piece of parchment that fits into your steamer. 

When the dough is ready, divide it into two equal halves. I have a single-layer steamer and couldn't steam all of my buns at once, so I worked with half of the dough at a time. If you have a single layer, place one half in the fridge while you work. This stops it from overproofing. 

Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Roll each ball into a 5" circle, brush it with dough, and then fold it in half. Place the folded dough on the parchment. Repeat with each ball. 

Cover and let proof for 20 minutes. 

While the dough is proofing, fill your steamer with water to about 2 inches from the top. Bring to a boil. After it starts boiling, reduce to a simmer.

When the dough is ready, cut the parchment into pieces around the bao. This is a great method to ensure you only roll out exactly what will fit in your steamer. 

Remove the lid from the steamer, dry it, and then wrap it with a towel or paper towel. I used a paper towel. Place each bao and its parchment into the steamer and cover. 

Cook for 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and let the bao sit for 10 minutes covered. Remove from heat and serve. 

Notes

• Recipe from Breadtopia.

• 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

Banana Cream Cheese Muffins - #MuffinMonday

These muffins are accidentally eggless. I fully planned on using one of the banana muffin bases I typically use and then topping it with a cream cheese mixture which also needed an egg yolk. As I fell asleep the night before I planned to bake, I remembered that I had forgotten to buy eggs. I could have quickly run to the supermarket that's half a mile away, but I hate few things more than leaving my house. Eggless banana muffins would have to suffice. And suffice, they did. These muffins are soft, moist, and absolutely delicious!! It's hard to eat just one, so I stopped counting after I ate two. I don't need that negativity in my life. 

Be sure to scroll down to see what other muffins the #MuffinMonday bakers have for you today!

Banana Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield: ~ 10 muffins

Ingredients 

Muffin

1 1/2 cups flour 

2 teapoons baking powder 

2 teaspoons mixed spice  (see notes)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/3 cup oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Topping 

3 oz cream cheese 

2 tablespoons sugar 

splash of vanilla 

enough milk to make it "swirlable"

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a muffin pan. 

Whisk the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, baking soda, and salt. 

Mash the banana with sugar until there are few lumps. Stir in oil and vanilla. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently fold until just combined. 

Mix together the topping ingredients. 

Portion the muffin mixture into the prepared muffin wells. Then add a scant tablespoon of cream cheese to each muffin. Gently swirl the cream cheese in. 

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Clean. Hide from your family. Enjoy

Notes

• Eggless Banana Muffin adapted from The Conscious Plant Kitchen.
• Mixed spice is similar to pumpkin pie spice. In Jamaica, our most popular brand has pimento, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and orange peel. It's especially popular around Christimas time when it's heartily used in our fruit cakes. Here's a homemade mix from Ackee Adventures.

   

• ABC Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Banana Cream Cheese Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Panettone Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Raspberry Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Roasted Strawberry Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Ricotta Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Butter Naan - #BreadBakers

Indian breads. My kitchen nemeses. I don't know what it is about them that I just can't seem to master. My favourite, paratha, is always a hit or miss, with more misses than hits. It could be the rolling. I'm still not very good at rolling out dough, especially when the dough needs to be on the thinner side. I can never get it even, which risks some areas being overcooked and others being undercooked. It could also be the heat of my tawa. Too high or too low - hardly just right. 

It took me a while to one to work on for this month's Bread Bakers. Naan won, because naan didn't look "perfect". I could focus on making it even without worrying if it were a circle. In fact, the blog that I was reading highly recommended hand-stretching over rolling. I could aim for an oval-ish and stress a tad less. A tad. 

It worked. My naan worked. Did I struggle a bit with the best cooking times? Yes. But did I have very delicious, fluffy naan at the end? Yes, yes, yes. I might even try this again.

Thanks for pushing me out of comfort zone, Renu! Scroll down to see how others mastered Indian breads this month!

Butter Naan

Yield:  8 naans

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar 

3/4 teaspoon active yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ml yogurt

6 tablespoons milk 

2 tablespoons melted butter

Melted butter for brushing

Directions

Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together. Add yogurt, milk, and melted butter. Knead until you have a soft, smooth dough. Add more milk if needed. Dough should be tacky.

Cover and rest until the dough doubles in size. You can also refrigerate overnight. 

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. 

On a floured surface, roll (hand-stretch) each ball into an oval that's about 8 inches by 5 inches. Don't stress too much about getting the perfect size. 

Heat a tawa (or griddle) over medium heat. Place the naan on the heated tawa. After about a minute, it should start bubbling. Flip the naan, and cook for another minute to minute and a half.  Remove from the tawa, brush with butter, and repeat.

Serve immediately. 

• Butter Naan from Passion Kneaded
• Cheese and Garlic Naan from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Gujarati-style Savory Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
• Gulachi Sanjyachya Polya with Whole Wheat Flour from Sneha's Recipe
• "Instant" Appam from A Messy Kitchen
• Khamiri Roti from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Litti Chokha from Cook with Renu
• Magical Avocado Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Butter Naan from Passion Kneaded
• Cheese and Garlic Naan from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Gujarati-style Savory Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
• Gulachi Sanjyachya Polya with Whole Wheat Flour from Sneha's Recipe
• "Instant" Appam from A Messy Kitchen
• Khamiri Roti from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Litti Chokha from Cook with Renu
• Magical Avocado Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm