First attempt at making...

On a whim, I decided to try making some plain bao as Laura loves them. Also I had bought some "Pau Flour" a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd better use the special flour before the weevils get to it. Well, too late... The packet, even though unopened, was Planet Weevil!

When I searched for Bao recipes, I found a steamed bun recipe which used plain flour! Whoopee! Too lazy to get my hands dirty, I used the bread machine :D Dumped in all the ingredients and then set on Dough setting. When the machine sounded, I looked in and my heart sank! The dough didn't rise and it was way too dry. Yikes, I'd missed out 1/2 cup of water! 1 cup of water already added ma, how come another 1/2 cup of boiling water?? Since the dough was already in the machine, I heated up some water until it was slightly hot but not boiling. Didn't want to risk breaking my machine for some buns eh? Reset the setting and hoped for the best.

When the timing was up, which on my breadmachine was 1 1/2 hours from mixing to proofing, I took out the dough, greased a mixing bowl and let the dough proof for another 45 minutes. That did the trick. The dough rose beautifully! From then onwards, I followed the recipe and here's the result!
Fluffy, light baos! Now I want to try making Char Siu Bao!!