Pumpkin Buns

Pumpkin Buns

1. Prepare a pumpkin, wash and peel it, cut it into thin slices with a knife and steam it in a steamer for 6 or 7 minutes. (I don’t have a juicer, if you have one, you should be able to grind it directly and save steaming)

2. Crush the steamed pumpkin with a spoon into pumpkin puree.

3. Then mix the noodles, put the dry flour, the dry yeast powder and pumpkin puree that have been dissolved in 35 degrees of warm water together to form a dough. Note that the pumpkin puree contains a lot of water, so add a lot of water less than usual when kneading the noodles, and the dough is hard. No more later. Then let the reconciled dough stand for 50 minutes until it is fully fermented. The picture shows the already developed dough, which has doubled its volume.

4. Knead the reconciled dough again, knead it into a cylinder and cut it into evenly-sized dough.

5. Roll it out twice to make the dough thicker, and then put a little red bean paste filling, not too much, the red bean paste is not easy to digest. I added raisins and crushed sesame seeds to the red bean paste. This is my personal preference.

6. Take a few fried peanuts and cut them into quarters lengthwise with a knife to make pumpkin stalks.

7. Then wrap the dough stuffed with bean paste into a round bun shape, use a knife to evenly press the grooves around the bun like a pumpkin, and finally insert the peanuts in the middle, the shape of a small pumpkin bun will come out, and all the buns will be ready. Then let it stand for about 10 minutes, and wait for it to ferment again.

8. Of course, you can also make a few hedgehogs. Use mung beans for the eyes of the hedgehog, use scissors to cut out the thorns on the body, and cut the hedgehog's mouth horizontally.

9. Steam the buns in a steamer for 15 minutes and they will be cooked. Isn’t it cute? It actually tastes better!

10. This is Hedgehog Mantou. Hedgehog is laughing, see it?