Chinese Pastry & Dim Sum

Roll wheat dough thin, fill it, pleat it shut, and steam

Chinese pastry means steamed buns, dumplings and wheat-dough wrappers, so it shares almost nothing with Western baking: a rolling pin and a steamer replace the oven and tins. Dough that will not rise in a cold kitchen is the standard first problem. Steam gives no browning to read, so doneness is time plus spring, and early batches come out dense. Pleating comes only with volume.