Nutty Steamed Buns (芝麻酱花卷, Sweet Hua Juan)

• Add flour and instant dry yeast to a big bowl. Mix well with a spatula.
• Slowly add water and mix with a spatula, until the water is fully absorbed and there is no dry flour on the bottom of the bowl (*see footnote 1). The dough should feel very soft and sticky.
• Dust both hands with flour. Start kneading with hand. The dough might stick to your hand easily. Add plenty of flour and continue to knead, until dough forms.
• Dust a thin layer of flour on a working surface (or a large cutting board). Transfer the dough to the working surface and keep kneading. If the dough starts to feel sticky, add more flour. Knead until the dough become consistent in texture, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a big bowl. Cover with a wet clean kitchen towel and place a lid on the bowl. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Dust the working surface and both hands again. Transfer the dough to the working surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until the surface becomes smooth.
• Divide the dough in half. Knead each piece of dough a few times to shape a ball. Cover the dough with a damp and clean kitchen towel.
• Let rest for 1 hour, until the texture becomes fluffy and tender and the size nearly doubles.
• Stir the sesame paste (or peanut butter) until the texture becomes consistent (*see footnote 2). Add the sesame paste and sugar to a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
• Dust the working surface and the dough with flour. Work on the dough pieces one by one.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large rectangular sheet, about the thickness of two dollar coins.
• Spread half of the sesame paste (or peanut butter paste) evenly on the dough sheet to form a thin layer, leaving about 2cm (0.8 inches) away from the edge. If the dough you roll is a bit thicker, you may not able to use all the sesame paste. (*see footnote 3)
• Roll the sheet from the short side carefully, to form a roll.
• Carefully divide the roll into six even parts with a sharp knife without squeezing out the filling.
• {Option 1} To shape the flowers, work on the buns one by one. Take one bun with both hands so that the swirl side faces down. Slightly press the middle of the bun (non-swirl side) and pull the swirl-pattern parts of the bun towards you on both sides. Fold the bun so that the two swirl sides both face up. Twist the two ends in opposite directions, then pinch both ends together, and lightly press the dough together. Place the pinched side down on the working surface.
• {Option 2} If you don’t feel like shaping the buns, or are simply finding it difficult to twist them, having put too much filling into the dough, you can skip last step and steam the buns directly.
• If you have a very large steamer rack, you can work on the other piece of dough now and steam the two batches together. Otherwise, start steaming the first batch now, and work on the next batch at the same time.
• Add water to a steamer. Place a wet, clean dish towel (*see footnote 4) on the steaming rack. The water should be 2cm (0.8 inch) below the steaming rack. Carefully transfer the buns onto the rack, with at least 2 cm (0.8 inch) between them. Let the buns rest on the rack for 10 minutes.
• Heat the steamer over high heat until the water begins to boil. Turn to medium or medium high heat while keeping the water boiling. Steam the buns for 12 minutes, until the buns are cooked through.
• Be careful of the steam when you remove the cover of the steamer. Let the buns cool for a minute before transferring them to a plate.
• Serve warm.

Store and reheat

• Store leftover buns in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days, or in the freezer up to a month.
• To reheat the buns, you can either use a steamer or the microwave. The former generates fluffy and soft buns, just like freshly cooked ones, but takes longer time.
• To reheat with a steamer - Just heat the buns by following the steps above, the same way you cooked the buns initially, but instead of putting the buns on the kitchen towel, you can place them on a plate.
• To reheat in microwave - Add the buns and a teaspoon of water into a bowl. Loosely cover the bowl with a lid. Microwave until the buns turns warm and soft. Please note, the buns might turn a bit chewy if you use this method.