Steamed Bread - a special treat

A traditional Chinese kitchen doesn't have an oven, so no bread or cinnamon rolls, but a lot of delicious bread-like items are made using a steamer. Most wheat flour based items are originally from Northern China whereas most rice based items are from Southern China. One of the most common bread-like items is mantou 饅頭. It is commonly eaten as a breakfast item or to accompany a meal like rice in Southern China or pasta in the West.

There are several versions of the basic mantou recipe, mainly differing in the leavening agent. The traditional method uses a sourdough starter held over from a previous batch, some cooks now use yeast and/or baking powder.

Start with:
1T yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/4 C warm water
mix and allow to sit until the yeast is dissolved and mixture begins to bubble

Mix together:
6 C flour
1 3/4 C milk
1/4 C sugar
2T vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder

Add the yeast mixture and form into a ball. Place on a floured surface and knead until the mass is uniform and glossy.
Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Put in a warm place and allow to rise until double in size

Divide into workable portions and roll out approximately 3/4" thick. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and cut into 2" long pieces. Place on parchment paper and arrange in a steamer basket.

Place steamer basket over a pot of room temperature water and turn on heat; do not place over already steaming water. After water reaches boiling and steam is seen escaping from the top of the steamer, steam for 12 minutes.

Remove from steamer and enjoy. Especially delicious with any dish that has a lot of juice that the mantou can be dipped in.