How to steam raw buns in a microwave oven

Some families use rice cookers to steam buns, some use ovens, and of course microwave ovens are also good. You can put the kneaded dough into the microwave and heat it on high heat for three minutes, then wait for a while to let it ferment; when steaming the buns, there are a few things to pay attention to. The first is to use a steamer to avoid sticking to the bottom. The second is to separate the buns when placing them, because the buns will expand when steamed. Finally, put some water on each bun dough to prevent it from drying out.

The water should be warm, about as warm as the water you use for bathing, and then add the prepared yeast. The amount of water should be about 50mL. Let the yeast soak in this way for about 5-10 minutes.

Without adding water first, put the flour and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

After 5-10 minutes, slowly pour the water used to soak the yeast into the flour. Do not pour too much at one time. Add water while kneading. This will prevent you from adding too much water and making the flour too soft.

Knead for about 5-10 minutes and set aside.

Now we need to use our protagonist, the microwave oven!

Use a ceramic bowl (a shorter one, as you will place the basin on it later) and put enough water (about 30ml) in it to just cover the bottom of the bowl. Put it in the microwave and cook on the highest setting for 3 minutes.

When the time is up, open the microwave and quickly place the freshly kneaded dough and the bowl on the ceramic bowl. Close the microwave to prevent it from boiling over. (The above steps are for dough fermentation, which is suitable for cooler weather. If it is around 30 degrees in the summer, you don’t need to do it. Just put it in a place around 30 degrees to ferment.)

The fermentation time is not fixed, usually half an hour to an hour. You can see how much the dough has grown, and it will be fine when it has roughly doubled in size. Because the fermentation time and temperature have a lot to do with it. So don't be too precise.

Take out the fermented dough and knead it again to make the steamed buns you want.

Because it is steamed in a microwave oven, the following is the key to steaming.

Divide the dough into small pieces and put them in the steamer. Be careful not to put them too close together, as the steamed buns need to become bigger. But if you are eating them yourself, it doesn’t matter if you put them close together and let them touch each other.

After arranging them, pour a little water on each steamed bun. The amount to be cooked is about one spoonful for each steamed bun. It is best not to exceed two spoons, this is to prevent the steamed buns from lacking moisture and becoming dry on the surface.

The last step is to put the covered steamer into the microwave, set the heat to full (a certain brand of 800W microwave oven) for 8 minutes, turn it on, and at 4 minutes, open the microwave and turn the steamer to the other direction. Act quickly, close the microwave door and continue starting. (This step is because some microwave ovens have uneven heat, and the steamed buns at both ends of the inverted steamer have different tastes. The quality of my microwave oven may be a little poor. If you try it once, you don’t need to change the position. The steamed buns taste the same, so there is no need to change the position of the steamer after 4 minutes)

When the time is up, take out the steamed buns and start eating.