MF Notes: I made this bao dough. Original recipe called for 8 oz milk and an egg. Dough way too wet. Lowered milk and removed egg (which most recipes do not call for anyway). For the BBQ Pork, I used Char Siu (Chinese Barbecue Pork) WINNER. Cant remember what I used for sauce but it was way to strong and sweet. Try this one next.

DOIUGH: Combine the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Add ?¼ cup of the warm milk. It should foam and bubble if it doesnt discard it and start again. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Stir in remaining milk and oil.

Combine the flour, remaining sugar and baking powder in a bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. With the machine running, pour the warm milk mixture in a steady stream. Mix on low until it forms a rough ball. Let dough rest for 10 minutes covered with plastic. Mix again for 5 minutes. If too sticky and wet, add a little more flour. Turn out onto floured bench and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a large oiled bowl, cover loosley with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, approx. 1 hour.

While the dough is on its first rise: Cut out about 16 4 squares of parchment paper and set aside. 1 square for each filled bun.

FILLING: Meanwhile make the filling. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and saute yellow onion over medium-low heat until soft and translucent. Set aside along with green onion

Using same skillet, add all the remaining ingredients except for the barbecued pork and onions. Stir well. Return to low heat and cook until the sauce becomes bubbly, stirring constantly. Take off heat.

Back to the dough,,,Punch down, let rest for 5 minutes, and place on a lightly floured surface. The buns are ready to be formed

Cut the dough in half. Put one half in the fridge wrapped in plastic. Cut remaining dough in quarters and then each quarter into halves making 8 pieces of about 45 grams each. With a rolling pin, roll each piece into a 4-inch circle about 1/8 of an inch thin with the middles slightly thicker. Because the dough is very elastic and will shrink up after rolling, make two passes at the rolling so there is a little resting time before the final rolling. Pick up a disk and pinch the edges all around with your fingers to make the edges even thinner. Youll see why this is useful. Warning: This part is a little awkward, it took several attempts to get a good groove going where I was comfortable enough to handle and shape the filled dough.

Put about one tablespoon filling in the center of a round. Bring up the sides of each round and twist up in a decorative pattern, making sure to seal the top. If holes appear, patch them at once! Put each dumpling on a square of parchment. Set in steamer but do not start the water boiling. They will proof once more in the steamer for few minutes.

Turn burner on high and once the water is boiling, steam for 9-10 minutes.

Turn off heat and add the diced barbecued pork and onions and mix well. Divide the filling into 12 portions. Cover until the dough is ready.