The BEST Bao Buns Recipe & Video - Seonkyoung Longest (2024)

FAQs

How far in advance can you make bao buns? ›

Then turn off the heat (don't lift the lid) and allow the buns to rest over the hot water for 5 minutes. Buns can be made up to a day in advance and steamed to re-heat before serving.

Use water to wet all surfaces of the frozen bao bun (this will ensure that the dough doesn't crack when heated). Place bun on a plate in the microwave. Heat on high for approximately one minute.

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

If you're looking for the fluffiest buns, use cake flour which is low in gluten. Bread flour, which is high in gluten, is acceptable but it results in a chewier texture. You can replace ⅕ of the bread flour with cornstarch to lower its gluten level.

If the Bao recipe you are using have yeast as the main leavening agent, then you can do either. If you want to steam it the next day then you can leave the dough in the refrigerator to rise the first time overnight. You might want to decrease the amount of yeast used in your recipe in this case.

For the Steamed Bao Buns

The bao buns need 10-12 minutes to steam, so I recommend steaming the bao buns (homemade or frozen) just before serving. Allow about 3 buns per person as a main meal.

If condensation gets released onto them while they cook, they'll end up water-logged and soggy. This holds true for cooking store-bought bao as well as from-scratch versions. To use a bamboo steamer, simply place it in a large pot or pan that is filled with at least an inch of water.

When it comes to the dip, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli or a simple soy sauce with sesame oil make great pairings. We love to eat bao alongside some bouncy or zingy veggies. For zingy veg, we suggest some quick pickled cucumber.

A gua bao, also known as a pork belly bun,bao, or bao bun, is a type of lotus leaf bun originating from Fujianese cuisine in China.

As mentioned before Bao Buns are also commonly referred to as “bao, bay, pow, pau, paoare, Mantou, baozi, humbow, nunu, bakpao, bausak, however the most common terminology will be Bao or Steamed Buns. These soft delicious Chinese treats have been in existence for hundreds of years!

What can I use instead of a steamer for bao buns? ›

You can replicate a steamer with very little effort by placing your buns in a common kitchen sieve or colander, then suspending it over boiling water. Creating a tower from plates and tea towels will stop the steam from escaping, causing your buns to steam cook!

In order to get white bao, many Chinese American cooks use low-gluten (low-protein), bleached cake flour for their bao dough; cake flour is milled from soft wheat and has 8 to 10% gluten/protein. To make up for the flour's lack of gluten a touch of vinegar is added to result in more chewy dough.

The secret to soft, light rolls, if you're looking for something like a dinner roll, is an enriched dough that contains butter or other dairy, eggs, or both. If you want something more bread-like, you want a high hydration dough that's been properly kneaded and given at least two bulk fermentations before shaping.

Try basting your buns for moisture and flavor.

"Using melted butter with just a 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin can totally transform a boring bun."

Avoid Moisture

Ironically, buns can also dry out when not kept away from moisture. To avoid this, consider wrapping them in plastic wrap or placing them in a resealable plastic bag with a small piece of wax paper. The wax paper will help to absorb any excess moisture and keep the buns fresh.

This isn't a problem for all ingredients, but it certainly is for bao buns. If condensation gets released onto them while they cook, they'll end up water-logged and soggy. This holds true for cooking store-bought bao as well as from-scratch versions.

How do you keep steamed buns warm? Keep them in the bamboo steamer with lid closed. They should stay warm like this for ~10 minutes. When having them for dinner, I usually actually cook all the bao ahead of time and then re-heat a couple at a time by steaming for 1-2 minutes before eating.

With a two-layer steamer, you can do two batches of 8 buns, and each batch takes about 20 minutes. If you're doing the yeast version that proofs quickly and you have a single-layer steamer or workaround, you should refrigerate half your dough at this point so it doesn't overproof.