Mantou 饅頭 Chinese Steamed Buns - all-purpose

Method

• 1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and yeast. Then mix in the vegetable oil.
• 2. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and slowly pour in the warm water or milk and mix until dough forms into a ball. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to do all these steps (you won't have to make a well-just pour everything in).
• 3. Once the dough forms into a ball, begin kneading the dough for 15-20 minutes. If you have some anger you need to let out, this is the perfect thing to make. You can punch the dough and throw it around!
• 4. After you're done kneading the dough, put it in a clean large bowl and cover it with a cloth towel. Set in a warm place to rise. This will take about 3 hours.
• 5. After the dough has risen, form it into medium sized balls and set each ball on a square of baking paper (each ball should have its own square of paper).
• 6. If you have the time, let the balls sit for 40 minutes to rise some more. If you don't have time then 20 minutes is good enough.
• 7. Put the buns in a steamer on top of the pieces of baking paper. Steam for about 20 minutes until they're puffy and cooked.
• 8. To reheat them, you can steam them for 2-3 minutes in a steamer.