Sourdough pepper buns

Just back from Singapore and already craving savoury asian delights. Decided to a version of these pepper buns, which I first tried in Taipei. They make these in a huge charcoal oven on the streets, and the peppery filling paired with the flaky crust is unbelievable.

The traditional filling is meat-based, but here I decided to use a stewed mushroom filling. 

I began by making a simple 75% hydration white flour dough with 25% pre-fermented flour (my usual rye starter). Once that was ready, I prepared an oil paste by heating up oil and pouring that over flour to make a paste. 

While that was cooling, I made my mushroom filling (onion, mushroom, sweet soy sauce, lots of pepper, rice wine, flour to bind). Do not skimp on the ground white pepper!

Lamination: I rolled the dough out, and spread the oil paste on top of it. 

Then I rolled it up and portioned it.

I then balled this up, flattened it, and encased my mushroom filling. This was then baked in a 210 degrees oven for about 15 mins.

It turned out quite well and flaky! I could have put in more filling, and I think sesame seeds and a slightly sweet wash might make it even more delectable.