Purple Steamed Bao Dough

Preparation

Make dough

Take 1/2 purple cabbage and chop into rough pieces so it easily blends. Throw into a blender with 1 cup of water and blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a container so you get purple cabbage water. Save 3/4 cups of liquid for your dough, store the rest in the freezer (which you can use to defrost for later dough making sessions).

Briefly heat the 3/4 cup of purple cabbage on a stove or in microwave until it's warm (around 95°-115°F). Add yeast and a pinch of sugar to your spinach water, then give it about five minutes until you seem some foam bubbles on the surface. While you're waiting, place all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, give it a rough mix to incorporate together. Once the yeast/water mixture is ready, pour it into the large mixing bowl of dry ingredients. Use a silicon spatula, a little bit of elbow grease and give it a good mix until the liquid is incorporated into the flour, it'll start to look like a clumpy, tacky ball.

Knead dough

Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and start to knead it on a hard surface by continuously folding and rolling the dough onto itself, pressing with both hands to flatten. My grandma always says you have to knead at least 500 times which I've roughly calculated to about 10 minutes of straight kneading. You'll know the dough is ready when it starts to look like a smooth baby's butt and when you press into it, it should bounce back a little.

Proof dough

Place your dough baby into a large mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and put it in the oven with the light on or any slightly warm place. Proof for 1 to 2 hours or until it doubles in size. Once your dough is ready, take it out and punch it down and turn it out on a clean work surface. Your dough is now ready for shaping and making buns, gua bao, or whatever steamed goodness your heart and tummy desires.