Baked BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siao Bao)

Just recently one of my close friends made steamed bbq pork buns using one of my old YouTube tutorials. I rewatched it and cringed how badly made the video was. But it did bring back up old memories how DELICIOUS they were and it made me want to make them again. This time I did a baked version rather than steamed. The dough I used for this recipe is a my usual "go-to-bread recipe" Milk Bread Dough Using TangZhong starter method. So the bread baked out fluffily and goldeny and chewy as always. I made these in the dead of the night around 12 am and finished around 3-4am. My mother asked me to wake her up once I was finished so she could eat them hot and fresh. My father's first reaction to seeing a tray of these buns was, WHO BOUGHT THOSE AND BROUGHT THOSE OVER?? Because they looked like the store bought ones. That reaction inflated my ego lots.

Recipe for Baked BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siao Bao)

Dough- Milk Bread Using TangZhong Starter

TangZhong Starter

1/3 Cup Flour

1 Cup Water

1. In a pan over medium mix together 1/3 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. Keep mixing until lines appear. Remove from pan and pour into a another dish to cool. We're only using half of the TangZhong Starter for this recipe.

Milk Bread

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp yeast

4 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup TanZhong Starter (That we made earlier)

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients, flour, yeast, sugar, salt. 

2. In a separate bowl using a mixer, mix egg, milk, butter and 1/2 cup TangZhong Starter together 

3. Combine the dry and wet ingredients together, mix in a stand mixer using a dough hook. For 15 minutes

4. Cover the bowl leave it in a warm area, let it rise for 1 hour or until double in size. Punch it down to release the gas.

BBQ Pork Filling

1 pound of pork (I used pork shoulder)

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp oyster

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp ketchup

3/4 cup hot water

1tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp hot water

1 onion 

1. Combine all the ingredients into a pot except for 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp hot water. Heat over medium heat and stir until it boils

2. Once it boils, combine together cornstarch and hot water in a small bowl, then pour into the pot.

3. Stir until mixture has thickened.

4. Broil the pork in the oven the until no longer pink. Or cook by frying in a pan until no longer pink

5. Dice up the pork into small pieces, and and into the pot of sauce.

6. Dice up the onions and add into the pot

Assembly- Wrapping filling in dough

I have some pictures, and a video for this process if my explanation get too confusing

1. Cut dough out into 20-22 same sized pieces

2. Roll into a ball, and flatten with a rolling pin into the size that's slightly bigger than the palm of your hand.

3. Cup the center of the dough slightly to hold the filling.

4. Add less then an ice cream scoop full of filling

5. Pleat or pinch the sides of the dough

6. Gather your pinches edges, and twist sealing the dough. 

7. Flip over and place seam side down onto lined baking tray

8. Egg wash the tops of your buns using 1 tbsp water+1egg and brushing the tops of buns

9. Bake 350 for 20 minutes or until golden

 I'm sorry I didn't realize how blurry the pictures were being captured. Divide the dough into 20-22 pieces or so =D

 Roll into a ball and flatten into a circle

 Place dough in your hand and cup the center a bit.

 Add filling.

 

Pleat the sides and pinch them together and twist.

 Fip them over and place on lined baking tray.

 Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until golden

Don't forget to egg wash using one egg + 1 tbsp water, mix. Lightly brush onto top of the buns before baking for goldeny color