Lao mian (Chinese sourdough starter from fermented rice wine) and mantou

Wash the rice cooker and lid until free of oil. Rinse 200 g sticky rice until the water runs clear, strain, put in the cooker with about 300 g water and soak 30 minutes, then cook.

Fluff the cooked rice and cool to 35C.

Press 1 g yeast ball to a powder with the back of a spoon, mix with 1 tbsp drinking water, sprinkle over the rice and mix; loosen overly sticky rice with a couple more tablespoons of water.

Press down, make a hole in the center, cover and ferment 36 hours somewhere warm, ideally 28 to 30C, until fragrant and clear liquid appears when pressed.

Starter: mix 15 g water, 5 g fermented rice wine (half liquid, half rice) and 30 g AP flour. Feed at 2 parts flour to 1 part water for a couple of days until it becomes a stiff starter.

Dough: break 45 g starter into 140 g water, mix in 300 g AP flour to a shaggy mass, and knead just into a ball without developing gluten.

Cover with a plastic bag and ferment until doubled, about 6 hours at 28C.

Basic mantou: on the work surface add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar to half the dough (about 220 g) and roughly combine.

Mix the baking soda (0.6% of the dough weight, 1.32 g) with 5 g water; smear it onto the dough bit by bit while kneading, smearing the dough out and rolling it back, until completely smooth and white with no yellow spots.

Weigh and divide into 4 even pieces; press each with the heel of the hand, fold inward into a ball and pinch the seam closed.

Set seam side down on a rack lined with steaming cloth or parchment over at least 1.5 L of 30C water, cover and proof 1.5 hours, until a light finger poke springs back in 2 to 3 seconds.

Remove the steamer, bring the water to a rapid boil, return the steamer, cover and steam on high 8 minutes; turn off the heat and leave 2 minutes before uncovering.

Variation, flowering mantou: knead 1 tsp salt and 30 g sugar into the other half of the dough, then the alkaline mixture by the same smearing method until white and smooth.

Variation: roll into a log about 20 cm long; tear (do not cut) it in half and each half in half again, and shape each piece so the torn face points upward, pinching closed one side of the middle pieces.

Variation: proof on parchment in the steamer over 30C water for 1.5 hours, then steam on high over a rapid boil 8 minutes and rest 2 minutes off the heat.