Sourdough Basic Mantou

A sourdough version of the basic mantou (steamed bread)! Use as a foundation to
build all your customizations.

Servings: 8 mantou

Author:

Prep Time
20 minutes

Cook Time
25 minutes

Rise time
5 hours

Side Dish Appetizer Dessert Snack

Chinese

sourdough sourdough discard

Instructions

1 Heat up milk in a microwave for 30s. Mix in sugar and oil. Test the temperature–
it should be warm. Mix in sourdough starter or discard. I usually use discard
straight from the fridge.
2 Combine together flour and baking powder. Mix flour mixture into the sourdough
mixture and knead until a smooth and elastic dough forms. The dough is sticky at
first but keep working with it ~10 minutes by hand.
3 Cover and let rise for 2-4 hours depending on how active your starter is and the
environment. Using discard from the fridge, with a room temp of around 75F, mine
is typically ready to go in about 3.5 hours.
4 Prepare your steamer with parchment paper or steaming cloth/liner.
5 Make mantous: Using your hand, flatten the dough onto your work surface. Using a
rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle. Take one side and tightly roll
into a log. Slice into 8 and place it seam side down on parchment in the
steamer. See the notes for more shape options. If you are filling the buns,
divide into 10 pieces.
6 Cover the steam basket and let the dough prove for ~2 hours.
7 Add water to a pot and turn your stove on high. Place the steam basket on top
and steam for about 10-12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the buns sit for
about 5 minutes before serving.
8 Storage: You can freeze the buns once they have cooled. To reheat, just pop it
back into the steam basket and repeat the steaming step.