Barbecued Pork and Green Onion Buns

Now that school has started, I am again on the hunt for breakfast, lunch and after school snack ideas.  The girls are not big on the normal breakfast items, not big on sandwiches, and  besides granola bars and chips, not big on packaged foods.  They are not hungry first thing in the morning and truth be told, they barely make it out the door in time just getting dressed in the morning, let alone sitting down to breakfast.  So, I take to grab and go items for breakfast.  Now for lunch, they would opt for a hot lunch if they could, but buying lunch at school is not always the best option.  Reheating a meal is not appealing to them either.  Basically, I need help.  Today I made cold soba noodles with chicken, shiitake mushrooms and a sesame soy sauce ala the sauce from this posting for their lunches tomorrow.  The other item I banged out was a test recipe for baked buns.  I figured these, if they turned out okay, would be good for the breakfast grab or the after school/before practice snack.

3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
3 tablespoons fine sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons milk

Combine the water and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Add the yeast and stir to combine.  Let sit for 10 minutes until it becomes frothy.  In a large bowl add the water mixture to the flour and salt along with the oil.  Use a rubber spatula to stir the dough to combine.  Turn it out onto a well floured surface and knead until it is smooth.  Coat a large bowl with a little oil and place the dough into the bowl.  Cover and let sit a room temp for about 3 hours.

Turn the dough back out onto a floured surface.  Press it flat into a large round disk.  Sprinkle  the dough with the baking powder and use your fingers to spread the baking powder out evening.  Drizzle the milk over top and bring the edges of the dough together in the middle and knead the dough until smooth.  Return the dough to the bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for another 1-2 hours.  

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
7 scallions/green onions, thinly sliced
6 oz store bought barbecued pork cut into a fine dice

Saute the scallions in a little oil until just softened.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Let cool and combine with the pork.  
Take the dough out from the refrigerator and turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead a couple of times and separate into 16 equal parts.  Flatten each piece with the palm of your hand and use a small rolling pin to roll it flat to about 4-5" diameter.  Place a small spoonful of the filling and spread it out flat.  Gather the dough together to form a ball, then place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with the sealed side down.
When finished with all 16, cover with a clean towel and let sit to rise for another hour.
To bake:
Heat oven to 375f.  Combine 1 egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of water and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Brush the top of each bun with the mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.  Pretty yummy.

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