Bao Buns Without a Steamer

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
¾ cup warm water
sesame oil, for brushing

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all ingredients. Knead for 3-4 minutes, until the dough is well-combined and very smooth. Be patient!
Shape the dough into a log. Let rest 20 minutes. Cut into 12 evenly sized pieces and roll into balls. Then, flatten each ball into an oval shape (you can use a rolling pin). Brush the top side of each oval with sesame oil, and fold them in half.
Once all the buns are shaped, cover and let rise for 30 minutes, until they puff up a bit.
Now the buns are ready to be steamed. You can either use a traditional wooden steamer, or a round disposable pan. You need to use a pan that matches the width of your pot.
Make 12 slits in the bottom of your disposable pan. Make additional slits in a piece of parchment paper that you line it with (this is easiest to do if you fold the piece of parchment paper in half twice, then use a scissor to cut a few slits).
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the pan and the parchment lining. Add buns to the pan (about 6 at a time) and cover. Let steam for 12-15 minutes, until buns are cooked and look like little pillows.
At this point, you can freeze the buns to warm and use later, or you can go ahead and fill them. If freezing, place a piece of parchment paper in the opening of each bao bun so that they don't stick closed and are easy to fill once thawed.
To warm the Bao Buns, you can simply place them in the oven for 5 minutes. If they are frozen, place them in a covered pan and rewarm for 10-20 minutes (depending on how frozen/thawed they are and your oven temperature).

Notes

You can freeze these directly in the disposable steamer. To rewarm, place the pan directly on top of a pot of boiling water. This is the ideal way to rewarm so that they're just as good as freshly steamed buns!