Homemade Hamburger Buns

Crumble the yeast into a bowl, sprinkle with 10 g of sugar, and mash with a fork until the yeast softens, thins out, and forms a paste. Add 10 g of flour to it, mix again, and pour in 125 ml of lukewarm milk. Let it stand for 10 minutes in a quiet, draft-free place to form a thick leaven, which is a sign that the yeast is alive and active.

Weigh 20 g of flour into a small saucepan and pour in the remaining 100 ml of milk. Whisk together and start heating on a hob set to medium heat. The mixture will begin to thicken before it comes to a boil, so keep stirring; it's a quick process. First, a coarse paste will form, but immediately after, a thick mass. Remove from heat immediately and scrape the mixture, called tang zhong, onto a small plate to cool before using it in the dough.

Measure the remaining 330 g of flour, 10 g of sugar, and salt into a bowl and mix briefly. Add the egg and egg yolk, the risen leaven, and the cooled tang zhong, and begin to process the dough with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed. At first, it will be very coarse and wet, but once everything combines, you can gradually increase the speed to about half power. After approximately 10 minutes of kneading, the sides of the bowl will essentially clean themselves, and the dough will no longer be sticky and wet. You'll also know it's ready because it will be soft and smooth, almost like a baby's skin.