Baking: Hua Jian

This was my second go at baking with yeast! My first was with M from Baking With Em and M, and it was moderately successful. I say moderately and not completely because halfway through baking...I sat on the towel-covered buns (It was a bad idea it was to put the baking pan on a chair with a pattern that perfectly matched the towel). It was a true buns sandwich. Sad. After recovering from a debilitating laugh attack, M helped me salvage these misshapen dough balls.

This time around, I wanted to make Hua Jian for my mom--I kind of saw it as a Medal of Honor for baking. For those who aren't familiar, Hua Jian is a plain steamed bun decorated with a delicate, stringy appearance. Making the Hua Jian takes a while and is some pretty sticky business, but it's a lot of fun if you have some help in the kitchen!

Hua Jian (Adapted from Baking with Em and M)
Recipe makes about 40 buns

Ingredients: 
1/2 a packet of yeast (approximately 1+1/2 tsp)
1+1/4 cup of warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
3 cups of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

Recipe:
[1] Warm water over stove. You should be able to hold your finger in the water without getting burned.
[2] Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl. Place in an off microwave (or any other warm place, like your oven). After about 10 minutes, you should see foam.
[3] Add the flour and sugar to the large bowl.
[4] Mix and knead repeatedly until smooth and slightly airy.
[5] Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and return bowl to the off microwave for approximately 2 hours until the dough doubles in size.
[6] Divide the dough into three sections.
[7] Keep the unused dough in the covered bowl to prevent it from drying out.
[8] Flour the counter, your hands, and a rolling pin. Knead the dough 8-10 times over the floured countertop. Using the rolling pin, flatten the dough into a 12-15 inch circle (a square is okay too). What is more important here is that the dough be no more than 1 cm thick.
[9] Spread 1 tbsp olive oil over the dough.
[10] Roll up the dough into a log
[11] Cut the log into approximately 12-15 thin strips no more than 1/4 cm thick. Rotate the log as necessary to prevent the flap of dough appearing on the upper surface of the log.
[12] Take your 12-15 strip piece of dough and stretch it slightly. This will make it easier for the twisty-turny part.
[13] Take one end and twist it 360 degrees.
[14] Attach and pinch the ends together.
[15] Place on baking sheet and cover with a towel.
[6] Repeat for [A] as many buns as the remaining dough will allow [B] as many buns as you have the patience for [C] until you get the amount of pretty buns you want assuming your success rate is less than 100%
[17] Let the buns rise for another half an hour. (For me, it didn't feel like waiting because I was busy making the other buns for more than half an hour...)
[18] Steam buns for 15 minutes. Let cool and serve! If you want, you can freeze them for future consumption. All you'll have to do next time you crave Hua Jian is just steam and serve!

I made a schematic that hopefully you find helpful and instructive:

My schematic looks so much like the real thing, no? :)

And for those who prefer less theoretical pictures and more real ones:

Prepping the counter

The dough after doubling

Rolling it out! 

You add some olive oil to the surface.

Rolling it into a snake log.

Then you cut 12-15 little strips.

Follow the schematic shown a few panels up to transform the bottom left into the top right.

Let these rise for another half hour, and then steam for 15 minutes.