About the Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons oil
Preparation
Step 1
To make the yeast solution, in a mixing bowl add 1 cup warm water (110 -115 degrees), active dried yeast and sugar. Mix it well. Rest for 2 minutes until it’s a little foamy.
Step 2
Mix flour into the yeast solution. Mix it well. Knead the dough with your hand repeatedly folding it over itself to develop gluten. Transfer it in a bowl.
Step 3
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 1-2 hours (until the dough rises).
Step 4
Dust flour on a clean countertop. Press ½ of the dough into a rectangle, then roll into a 12 x 16-inch rectangle with the long side facing you. Brush dough with oil.
Step 5
Roll into a long cylinder. To close the cylinder, pinch the dough together gently. Turn seam side down. Gently stretch the cylinder slightly to activate the gluten.
Step 6
With a paring knife, slice the cylinder into 2-inch sized pieces.
Step 7
Cut an “X” in the top of the cylinder piece with a sharp paring knife down to the center of the cylinder (not all the way through). Push up the dough under the X to the top without breaking the dough, thus opening it to look like a lotus flower blossom.
Step 8
Oil the steamer rack. Place buns on the rack and steam for 20- 30 minutes.