Crystal Buns
White, soft, and fluffy sweet buns filled with diced pork fat cured in sugar.
Ingredients
Refined white flour
250g
Sourdough starter (i.e., yeast)
50g
Pork back fat (remove the outer skin, cut into small cubes)
125g
Castor sugar (120g for curing the pork fat, remainder for filling)
250g
Alkaline water
4g
Warm water (added in 3 batches)
125g
Instructions
1
Make the filling
Remove the outer skin from the pork fat, sprinkle with 120g of castor sugar, and cut into small cubes (marinate for 3 days in summer, 7 days in winter).
2
Make the dough wrapper
Pour the flour into a bowl, add the sourdough starter (i.e., yeast) and warm water to combine (water added in 3 portions of 60, 20, and 20), and knead into a dough. Knead until the dough, hands, and bowl are all smooth, then cover with a cloth to prevent moisture loss and drying. After about 3 hours, pinch off a piece of dough and check that there are some small air holes inside. Place the dough on a board, make a well in the center, pour the alkaline water into the well, then knead the dough until there are no yellow spots. Then roll the fermented dough into a long strip and pinch off 12 portions of about 35g each for the buns.
3
Wrap the filling
Add some castor sugar to each bun, then place them in a steamer and steam until cooked. Remove and arrange on a plate to serve.
