Wheat Mantou 麦馒头

Delicious Wheat Mantou 麦馒头

大家好！今天我做麦馒头。很好吃。麦馒头是健康的。我爸爸喜欢吃麦馒头。我也喜欢吃。过的星期，我有很多考试。不容易。
So, finals were very hard. The AP classes in which I took the finals in were even worse. In AP Lit, I had to write an essay and do an AP style multiple choice test on a book we have read in class.
Anyway, back to the bread. This Wheat Mantou 麦馒头 is actually pretty good. Actually, it's 100% Whole Wheat Mantou, because it doesn't use any white flour. I like it better than my other mantou recipe. Well, maybe it's because I've grown accustomed to healthier foods, but my dad also likes these too. He usually doesn't like whole wheat items.

My first attempt

These took about 3 to 4 hours to make. It'd probably be easier and faster if you used a bread machine. I'm so happy because these are really healthy and don't use a lot of ingredients. I've calculated the nutrition facts too. I got 18 rolls out of this, making it around 110 calories each. If you get 15 rolls, then they're around 130 calories. Healthy Asian Food. My favorite. So, here's the recipe. I've adapted it from RasaMalaysia.

Ingredients:

My 2nd attempt at making Wheat Mantou 麦馒头. Much better.

• 2 1/2  cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2  cup warm water
• 1 to 1  1/4 cup warm fat free milk
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions: 

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and 1/2 cup warm water. Then, mix in the yeast. Stir. Let it stand for 10 minutes. It should get foamy. 
2. In another bowl, combine both the flours. Add in the sugar/yeast mixture. Then, pour in 1 cup of warm milk. If more liquid is needed, add milk a little bit at a time until a dough forms. Once the dough has formed, knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not over-knead. Put the dough into another bowl.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until double in size. This can range from 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature. It rises faster in warmer temperatures.
4. While waiting for the dough to rise, combine the baking powder with 2 tablespoon warm water. Once the dough is done rising, mix in the baking powder mixture. If the dough is already sticky enough, you can add the baking powder directly into the dough. You can also add it to the flour before mixing in the liquid. Knead until incorporated. Remember to add flour if the dough is sticky or add more liquid if the dough is too dry. 
5. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Then, fold one side into the middle, and then fold in the other side to the middle. Roll it out again.
6. Roll the dough into a log.
7. Divide into 12 to 18 pieces. 
8. Let it rise for about another 20 to 30 minutes. 
9. Steam for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the buns. 
10. Serve warm. 
11. Enjoy with tea or rice porridge. 

 

The steamer I used

My first attempt..after steaming. ugly

My first attempt..right before steaming, ugly.

                                      

Chinese Buns

Hey everyone. How are you guys doing? Well, today, I steamed these packaged lotus seed paste buns. I love lotus seed paste. The problem is that they don't sell them in cans, so I have to buy the buns. Anyways, these buns are delicious. And, guess what, they're only 70 calories for one. The only downfall is that they are kind of small. You might need to eat 2 or 3 of them to be content. I bought these at the 99 Ranch Supermarket. Here's how the package looks:
Anyways, even though I know how to bake Chinese buns, I'd like to learn how to make steamed ones like these. I have a recipe that I haven't used yet to make the steamed buns. I'll have to make them first before I post it. Also, I'll be making my own red bean paste. They'll be the bun filling. I would add lotus seed paste, but, like I said before, I don't have any. I also don't have the lotus seeds to make the paste. I still like red bean though. Be on the lookout for the recipe. :)
Anyways, here's the nutrition facts for the frozen buns. :

So, anyways, it's pretty simple to steam these. Here are the directions:

1. Boil water in a wok.
2. Place buns on a plate.
3. Once the water is boiled, put the buns in the wok and cover with the lid. Let it steam for 5 to 8 minutes. These buns are small, so the steaming time is shorter. 
4. Take them out. 
5. Serve immediately and enjoy. 

馒头 Mantou

 Hey everyone. Today has been a very slow day. I got my flu vaccine, and I had a dentist appointment. They went okay, but it took some time off of some other things I wanted to do. I have to plan stuff for the Spanish class I am teaching, and I still have to write a few articles for my school paper. Busy Busy.
Anyways, today, I made 2 things. I made chocolate pancakes (which I will post tomorrow), and I made these, 馒头. They are really good, for my first time making them. I'm used to baking breads like bolo bao, red bean bao and chau siu bao. The only reason why I decided to make these was because my mom's friend made whole wheat mantou, and gave us some to try. Then, I decided to try to make my own, the regular kind. Not the whole wheat kind because family doesn't like whole wheat things. So, here's the recipe for 馒头. I'm getting pretty obsessed with bread making. I may make Pan de Muerto next week. :) Anyways, 馒头 this time. Enjoy. I may do some things differently next time I make it though. I may add a bit more liquid, since the dough was a bit dry. I might also experiment add fillings or adding a chocolate dough to it too. We'll see. 
Ingredients: 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar ( it wasn't sweet enough for my taste, so I will up to 1/2 to 3/4 cup next time)
• 1 cup warm milk (I will up to 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup next time)
• 2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions: 

1. Make sure the milk is warm. Put the warm milk in a bowl, and mix in the sugar (you can add up to 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar). Add in the yeast, and let it poof for about 10 minutes.
2. In another bowl, mix together the flours and baking powder.
3. Slowly pour in the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Then, knead it to make a dough. If the dough needs more liquid, add  more liquid.
4. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Then, fold one side into the middle, and then fold in the other side to the middle. Roll it out again.
6. Brush water onto the surface of the rectangle and then roll it into a log.
7. Cut the bread into about 10 to 12 pieces.
8. Let the dough rise for about 30 min to an hour.
9. Steam for about 20 minutes. Once it's done steaming, leave it covered for about 5 minutes. You can slightly uncover it, but do not uncover completely, for if there is a sudden temperature change, the bread will deflate.