Chinese Steamed Flower Buns (Hua Juan) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 -2 teaspoon yeast (use the higher amount in cooler weather, or if you want the dough to rise more quickly)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 -4 tablespoons oil (for brushing dough)
sichuan pepper (sprinkled to taste)

Preparation

In mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar over the water. Wait until it bubbles.
Whisk in salt and 1 c flour; stir in 2nd cup of flour, and knead in 3rd cup gradually to form smooth, soft dough.
Cover dough an let rise until double (the dough will no longer bounce back when gently pressed with a fingertip.).
Divide dough into 2 or 3 portions. Roll each into a rectangle less than 1/2-inch thick on floured surface. Brush dough with oil and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper powder. Roll the dough into a log.
To shape the buns, slice the dough as thin as possible with a very sharp, floured knife, and press 9 or 10 of them together to form each bun. You can see pictures here: http://bakingwithemandm.blogspot.sg/2011/03/hua-juan-and-sao-bing.html.
Let buns rise on floured surface for half an hour.
Steam 15 minutes.