Chinese Steamed Bread

This i had at one of the best chinese restaurants in my city the ling's pavilion. And i was floored. Excellent is an understatement. I had been meaning to search and make this but somehow it slipped my mind. Dh was talking about this last night at a discussion about chinese food. :d and i had to get the recipe. I found a few and have made a sort of combo going by my taste preferences and judgment. I will be making these this week. Am storing this for safekeeping at the safest site i know.:d you can fill these too before you steam them with any filling of choice. But i want to use them for dipping into gravy. Ooh! La! la! my mouth is watering in anticipation. Will edit after i make this.

Steps

In a small bowl , sprinkle the yeast and sugar over a mixture of 1 / 4 cup water and 1 / 4 cup flour and leave for around 15-30 minutes.

Stir in the remaining water / milk , flour , salt , sugar , pepper and oil.

Mix everything to a dough.

Turn it on to a floured work surface and knead it until it is smooth.

Return it to the bowl , cover it and leave it in a warm place for 2 1 / 2 to 3 hours or until it has tripled in size.

Punch down the dough with the back of your fist to flatten on a floured board.

Sprinkle the baking powder over and knead for a few minutes.

Shape the dough into 24 rolls.

Keep each ball on a wax paper and let it rise for another 30 minutes.

You can place these balls on individual pieces of wax paper so you can use these to place in the steamer too for easier handling.

Bring water in the bottom of a steamer to a boil first.

Then place the rolls in the steamer , leaving a 1-inch gap between them.

Cook in batches if need be.

Cook them for 10-15 minutes ,.

Ingredients

active dry yeast, white sugar, all-purpose flour, water, warm water, salt, vegetable oil, black pepper, baking powder