Butternut Mantou

Author: Anita Jacobson

Courses: Bread

Cuisines: Chinese

Diets: Vegan

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Serves: 12 buns

Ingredients

• 75 ml (5 tablespoon) warm water (37 Celsius/100 Fahrenheit)
• 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 250 gram all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 75 gram butternut squash, cooked and pureed
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter/lard/oil, room temperature (*)

Instructions

1. Place warm water in a bowl, sprinkle with active dry yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Stir. Let it rest for 20 minutes until foamy.
2. In another bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well at the center, then add in butternut squash puree, yeast solution, and butter/lard/oil. Knead into a smooth, elastic, non-sticking dough. You may need to add 1-2 tablespoon of flour if it is too sticky. Kneading time is about 20 minutes.
3. With the dough inside a mixing bowl, cover the bowl with a saran wrap. Let it proof until the volume is doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Prepare a steamer.
5. Punch the proofed dough to release air bubbles, knead again 2 minutes. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions.
6. Use a rolling pin to roll each portion of the dough into a rectangle (about 5" x 8"). Roll on the long side from bottom to top like rolling a towel into a log. Cut the log into 4 pieces, each 2" long. Repeat for the other 2 portions. You should get a total of 12 pieces.
7. Place each piece of dough on a cup cake liner (or a 3" square parchment paper).
8. Steam on high heat for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Do not open the steamer lid, and let the buns rest in the covered steamer for another 5 minutes.
9. Gently remove the steamer lid so no liquid drops on the buns (you can also wrap the lid with a large kitchen cloth before steaming). Serve the steamed buns hot with a cup of hot tea.

Notes

• (*) Use oil if you are a vegan.