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To make the dough: In a medium bowl, combine all the dough ingredients and knead — by hand or with a mixer — to make a soft, elastic dough, about 8 to 10 minutes.
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Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
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To make the glaze: While the dough is rising, stir together the glaze ingredients. Set aside.
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To shape the buns: On a lightly floured work surface, gently deflate the dough and divide it into 12 pieces (about 58g each). Cut out twelve 4” squares of parchment and set aside.
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Roll each piece of dough into a long oval (about 8” long x 3” wide).
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Working with one piece of dough at a time, lightly spoon the glaze over the oval. Use the back of a spoon to evenly spread the thick glaze over the dough. Use a bench knife or pizza cutter to cut four or five strips the length of the oval, keeping one end intact to make shaping easier.
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Pick up the oval that’s been cut into strips and start twisting each end in opposite directions, like you were wringing a towel.
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Continue to gently twist the dough so it forms a rope and then starts to twist in upon itself. Tuck the ends of the rope underneath and place the shaped bun on a parchment square. The ends don’t always want to stay tucked under, so it will take some practice to get uniformly round buns.
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Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Once all 12 buns have been shaped, cover and let them rise in a warm spot until puffy, about 40 to 60 minutes.
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While the buns are rising, set up your steamer. You can use multiple bamboo steaming trays, or a stock pot with pasta and steaming inserts. (Heads up: At King Arthur, we only recommend the products that we, as bakers, truly love. When you buy through external links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.)
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Bring your pot of water to a boil with the steamers or inserts in place.
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Place the buns, on their parchment, in a single layer in the steamers.
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Steam the buns for 13 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave the lid on for another 5 minutes before removing (this will help prevent the buns from collapsing).
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If not using immediately, cool the buns, transfer to a freezer bag, and freeze. (See "Storage information" in step 10 for reheating instructions.)
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To make the lobster filling: Remove the meat from the claws, knuckles, and tail of the lobsters.
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Chop or tear the meat into small pieces and mix with the remaining filling ingredients.
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To assemble: Slice the steamed buns in half, leaving one side attached. Fill the buns with the lobster salad and serve immediately.
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Storage information: Any leftover baos should be cooled completely and then stored, well wrapped, before being frozen. To reheat, wrap with microwave-safe plastic or a wet paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
