Add the water and starter to a large bowl. Use a fork to break up most of the starter into the water. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and combine using your hands until the dough is one cohesive mass. It will look like a shaggy dough but all the ingredients should be well combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Knead for 5 minutes on a flour covered surface (adding more flour as necessary) until pretty smooth.
Oil the bowl from before, place the dough in it and cover. Let rise (bulk fermentation) until it spreads across the bowl and is puffy, about 3-4 hours.
Oil a muffin pan, leaving the middle hole of the two outer three-hole rows ungreased (so ten holes are greased). Oil your hands and weigh out a ball of the dough to be about 45g. Shape the ball with two hands midair by folding four corners of the dough underneath itself to create a puffy, ball shaped top. Pinch the underneath a few times to even out the bottom a little bit. The top, round part of the bun should be prominent at this point.
Place the ball, pinched side down, in the muffin pan. Avoid touching the top at the end of your shaping– it doesn’t have to look perfect. Repeat until you have 10 balls shaped and placed in the pan (oiling your hands as necessary). Don’t place any in the two ungreased holes.
When you have 10 filled holes in the muffin pan, cover the pan with a plastic bag so the covering won’t touch the dough. Let rise (proof) for 2-3 hours.
When they are noticeably puffed over the top, preheat the oven to 425°For 218°C. After 15-20 minutes, or when your oven is more than ready, remove the covering from the dough pan. Fill the empty holes in the pan with a 0.5 inch or1.25 cm of water and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes. You may hear popping or crackling noises from your oven.
Remove the buns from the pan carefully by twisting or gently running a knife around the edges. Some will pop out easily and others may take some coaxing. Let cool slightly on a cooling rack or serve immediately. These are best consumed warm on the same day of baking!