Baked pork buns

Zhu’s baked barbecue pork buns follow the char siu bao served at Chinese bakeries and as Cantonese dim sum. Her selected version surrounds a sweet-savoury prepared char siu filling with a soft, fluffy milk-bread dough.

Warm milk activates the yeast with a pinch from the same dough sugar quantity. The remaining sugar, salt, bread flour, melted butter and egg form the dough, which kneads until smooth and stretchable before rising in a separately buttered bowl.

An own filling sauce combines chicken stock, hoisin, oyster sauce, a separate sugar portion, selected Shaoxing wine, garlic, five-spice powder and cornstarch. It boils until thick, then cools before diced prepared char siu is stirred through.

The risen dough divides into twelve pieces. Each flattens with a slightly thicker centre, encloses a spoonful of the same filling and seals before its second rise on parchment-lined trays.

A separate tablespoon of milk brushes the tops, with sesame seeds optional, before the buns bake until golden. After a short rest, Zhu serves them warm or at room temperature, with fluffy bread around the tender pork filling.