Green Tea Spiral Mantou (Chinese Green Tea Steamed Bun 緑茶双色馒头卷 ) (Overnight Sponge Dough Method)

Mantou (Chinese Steamed Bun) is a simple versatile bun, you can add varieties of flavour to the bun to suit your family taste buds. This is my second spiral mantou, you may like to look into my previous Chocolate Spiral Steamed Bun if you prefer the chocolate flavour. 

Matcha green tea flavour mantou is very refreshing, just keep the green tea powder to a teaspoon, the distinctive bitterness of the green tea will not overpowered the plain milk bun portion. To get the beautiful green tea spiral the proportion of green tea dough and plain dough for this creation is 1:3.

Ingredients: 

Overnight Sponge Dough:

60 g low gluten flour (中劲面粉）

40 ml water

1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

Mantou Dough:

all of overnight sponge dough, tear into small pieces
350 g low gluten flour

1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

200 ml warm milk 

30g fine sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp green tea power + 1.5 tbsp water (for green dough)

Method:

Prepare the overnight sponge dough: 

1. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl, pour in water, stir well to combine. Mix well.
2. Place the mixture in a plastic cling, tighten the dough. Place the dough in the fridge proof overnight.

3. Take out the dough 30 mins before using. 

Prepare the mantou dough:

1. Place all dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl, gradually add in 200 ml warm milk. Knead the dough together to form rough dough. Take out 1/3 of the dough and mix with the green tea-water paste. knead well. 

2. Knead the 2/3 milk dough to smooth dough (add more milk if the dough is dry). Cover and let it proof to double in size.

3. Knead the 1/3 green tea dough to smooth dough (add more milk if the dough is dry, add a bit of flour if it is too sticky). Cover and let it proof to double in size.

4. Punch down the air in the milk dough and flatten it to rectangle thin dough. Do the same for the green tea dough. Flatten the green tea dough to the same rectangle size as the plain dough. 

5. Overlap the green tea dough on top of the milk dough as in the photo. Roll the dough up gently. Cut the dough into 2 inch section, place a piece of parchment paper below each dough. (note: At this stage, I actually cut the dough into two portions before I roll up the dough, I flipped one dough into opposite colour with the other portion so to get green dough at the outer design)

6. The steamer has to be preheated to around 35C, switch off the fire. Place the mantou dough inside the steamer and proof for 15 mins or until it is double it size. 

7. Switch on the fire to medium and steam for 15 mins. Leave a gap on the steamer when it is nearly done, you have to place a chopstick between the lid and the steamer.

8. Switch off the fire immediately when the steaming time is 15 mins. Let the mantou sit off heat in the steamer for 5 mins before take them out.