Bao (steamed buns) sounded fairly daunting, but I wanted to try it and I hoped my familiarity with various types of dough would give me a leg up. As it was, the pastry turned out drier than anticipated, probably due to the fact that I was using bread flour rather than all-purpose. I added a little more water to compensate. The amount of yeast suggested in the ingredients list had me a little worried, but as it turned out, a teaspoonful was plenty, despite other YouTube versions calling for as much as a tablespoon plus other leavening agents. For my filling, I did not follow Mandy's recipe exactly. I used pork sausage for two reasons: it's what I had on hand, and it's what I usually use to stuff wontons. Fillings for bao can be as creative as you'd like, and they do not have to include meat if you're vegetarian. Use sprouts, bok choy, carrots, peas, water chestnuts and spice them to your individual taste. My steamer would only accommodate three buns on each of two levels, so I cooked them in two batches. These are BIG bao! Two are easily enough for a dinner, and they can be frozen and re-steamed. Oh, I probably should add that I practiced pleating bao using a circle of fabric until I was confident I could make a presentable spiral. Honestly, that's the hardest part of making this Chinese treat.
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