Homemaker in the Making: Steamed Kaya Pau

I tried my hand at making Pau (Chinese steamed buns) and it worked! Not too bad for a beginner like me. Ignore the kaya paste oozing out of the buns. It's the best that I could do, really!

 Cousin (coincidental that her nickname is Ah Bao! Lol)  is supportive throughout my pau-making process. One tough thing about making paus is closing the ends and to make sure the filling doesn not flow out. I failed for a few buns because I couldnt make the ends of the skin touch nicely.

Recipe (makes 12-14 buns depending on your bun size)
Modified from happyhomebaking

Ingredients
300g Hong Kong pau flour
3g baking powder
3g instant yeast
30g caster sugar
150ml water
15g vegetable oil
A jar of kaya paste (Mine is NTUC brand)

Procedures

1. Sieve Hong Kong pau flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add yeast, caster sugar and mix well.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add in water and mix to form a dough. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth (about 5 mins). Knead in the vegetable oil and continue to knead for another 10-15 mins or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Take a piece of dough (about the size of a table tennis ball) and stretch it, you should be able to stretch it to a fairly thin membrane without tearing off easily, if not continue to knead for another 5 to 10mins.
3. Roll dough into a smooth round, place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it proof for about 1 hr or until it doubles in bulk.
4. Punch down the dough and give a few light kneading to release the trapped air bubbles. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 40g each). Roll each portion into a smooth round.
5. Flatten each dough into a small disc with your palm or a small rolling pin, make the edges thinner and the centre portion thicker. Wrap each dough with a dollop of kaya paste the size of a 50 cent coin. Pinch and seal the seams. Place dough seam side down on a square piece of parchment paper. Cover loosely with cling wrap and leave buns to proof for 20-25 mins.
6. Place buns in a steamer or wok and space them apart so that they do not touch one another. Steam at medium to high heat for 12mins (make sure the water is already boiling before steaming). When ready, remove the lid carefully to prevent water from dripping over the buns. Remove immediately and serve warm. Keep any leftovers in fridge (covered with cling wrap or store in airtight containers) and re-steam till hot before serving.

Happy cooking everyone!