Herman Mantou Roll 赫爾曼饅頭卷

Another project from my Herman starter, I’m making Chinese steamed bun out of it from scratch. Oh yeah, I am having fun with my new pet. I am thankful yet another successful bun produced by my natural yeast. Did you know there are so many beneficial from using natural yeast ! Natural yeast can break down harmful enzyme in grains, makes vitamins & minerals more easily available for digestion. It can improves your digestion system and reduce bloating problem. This is so encouraging and we should start using natural yeast more often from now on. Please read on for more.

To activate the Herman culture, mix together the following ingredients 3 hours before working on dough.
**3 TB Herman starter + 3 TB  flour + 3 TB water + 2 TB sugar

Ingredients for main dough  :
150gm  herman starter
300gm  all purpose flour
1 TB   sugar
100ml  water (depending on flour)
40gm  shortening

*300gm  red bean paste filling
(flatten into 10×14″ sheet between two plastic sheets)

Method :
(1)  stir together ingredients from main dough (except shrtening) till sticky dough is formed.
(2)  add shortening and continue kneading till smooth, at this stage, dough no longer be sticky.
(3)  place dough to a slightly floured working table and flatten into 12×16″ sheet.
(4)  transfer red bean paste sheet onto flattened dough, then roll it up like a Swiss roll and make sure its nicely sealed and place onto a piece of parchment paper.
(5)  let dough rest in oven with a cup of hot water for at least 4 hours.
(6)  once its ready, steam at preheated steamer for 30 minutes over high heat.

* Tips :  always adding in water slowly to test the level of moisture when kneading the dough. Some flour need more than other and some need less. When dough turns sticky enough but not paste like, meaning its ready for you. Never afraid of sticky dough, the dough will turns out great once cooperated with shortening or butter or cooking oil. You can actually feel more & more air in the dough when kneading it.

The mantou should be extremely hot at this moment, you need to wait till its completely cooled before slicing it.

This steamed bun turns out so soft and bouncy, just like the Chinese festive turtle bun or steamed Mee Koo. If it is made without the filling, you’ll be able to turn them into eastern French toast. hahaha…..  Hope you guys will love it too ! Enjoy.