bao bun recipe

How to make the perfect, soft and fluffy steamed bao buns with step-by-step photos. Follow these tips and tricks to make the perfect homemade bao buns, perfect for filling with your favourite ingredients.

Steamed Bao Buns

300 g (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour) or bleached flour

g (1 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)

caster sugar (super-fine sugar)

yeast yeast

baking powder

180 ml (3/4 cup) warm water

60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil, plus extra

Measure all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric stand-mixer (if using).

Measure the warm water and oil into a measuring jug. The water needs to be a bit more than lukewarm to help activate the yeast, but it shouldn&#8217;t be boiling hot.

Using the dough hook on medium speed, mixing the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Depending on the type of flour which you have used, you might need more or less liquid that than stated in the recipe.

Once you have a sticky dough, continue kneading the dough on medium speed until it becomes soft and smooth to touch. This should take about 10 minutes using the stand-mixer on medium speed, or about 5 minutes by hand.

Once the dough is soft and smooth, I recommend kneading it by hand for a few more minutes on the kitchen benchtop.

Place the ball of dough back into the (clean) mixing bowl.

Place the bowl somewhere warm for about 60 to 90 minutes for the dough to rise and double in size.

To prepare the buns

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it back and knead it by hand for about 5 minutes to release any air bubbles in the dough.

Then roll out the dough until it is about 1 cm in height.

Use your hands to rub some oil onto the surface of the dough.

Use an 8 cm (3 inch) cookie cutter to cut out rounds from the dough.

Place these rounds onto a small sheet of baking paper &#8211; I like to use plain white cupcake wrappers which I flatten with a rolling pin.

Fold over each round and then use a rolling pin to gently flatten the dough to form the bun shape.

Place all of the shaped buns onto a large tray, cover with a tea towel, and place in a warm place for about 30 minutes for the buns to rise again. After this time, the bao buns should have puffed up slightly.

To shape the buns

Meanwhile, prepare the steamer on the stove (see Kitchen Notes below).

Steam the buns in batches for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are puffy and soft, and cooked all the way through.

To steam the buns

I remember you making these on Instagram and just thought wow! I’m so glad you finally posted this recipe, I can’t wait to try it!

This is the best recipe for bao buns!! I made it on the weekend using all-purpose flour. The color was not very white but the taste was spot on and my family thought they were great. If I use the Chinese bleached flour for making buns, do I need to change anything in the recipe or is it a simple substitute for the all-purpose flour?

I made these tonight and they where great. I did add my own tweaks to kinda make it my own, but I did roll them a little too thick.... next time I’ll make sure they’re thinner! Thanks for the recipe.

Wow, making these bao buns was easier than I thought! And they tasted so delicious - my family was super impressed! I used all-purpose flour and they turned out perfectly. I’m going to try again this weekend with Chinese bleached flour. Thanks for your helpful tips!!

Made these last night and they barely rose! I then looked at other recipes online and they had more baking powder in them. The taste was spot on, but they were chewy and thin, not fluffy. Also when I folded them over before steaming, they stuck together and where hard to open.

Wow! Easy to follow recipe, my first and very successful bao buns made in lockdown :) I was born in Taiwan but raised in Oz and now living in London. It’s so expensive to eat Bao’s at restaurants but now I know how to make it!

Mine have turned out a yellow colour not white like yours what could this be from ?

Great recipe! Had a craving for bao buns but everything has been closed in Australia during the lockdown. I was really impressed with how these buns turned out. Served them with my mum’s marinated pork belly ha ha! Tasted amazing. Thanks for the easy to follow recipe.

Hands down best recipe for bao buns! I used the flour from the Chinese grocery store for a more authentic taste and colour. Defs making this again!

Wow! Thanks for the easy recipe. They tasted better than any bao buns I have ever bought! Love your Asian recipes and can’t wait to try more.

Wow, great recipe! Definitely worth the effort. Trying your bbq pork tomorrow with the leftover buns.

Amazing recipe! I finally found yeast and this was the first recipe I wanted to try. The buns were the best I’ve ever tasted!

This recipe is a keeper! I also tried David Chang’s recipe when his cookbook first came out but I wasn’t particularly fond of his recipe and never tried it again. But I loved your step by step instructions here and your bao buns are totally authentic in taste! I feel so inspired now! Can’t wait to make these again and also try more of your recipes.

Awesome recipe! My bao buns were so fluffy and delicious. I’m also Vietnamese and just love your blog!

Thank you for this recipe. I followed the instructions and it turned out great.?? Soft, chewy and tasty..

Thank you for the easy recipe! My first time making bao buns and they turned out perfect. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. P.S. Do you also have a recipe for steamed buns with pork and egg filling? Thank you!

This is the only recipe I use from now on, works perfectly! Thank you for the clear instructions and the tips &amp; tricks :)
Making Gua Bao tonight!

Love this no-fuss simple recipe. I found out that kneading until smooth &amp; elastic is the key to getting white fluffy buns. Thanks!

Such a solid recipe, I've made these bao at least 3 times already. I used regular sugar since I haven't been able to find castor sugar lately. It's great for leftover sweeter meats, I've used leftover (Passover) brisket, jerk chicken, and this time honey garlic roasted duck. Serve with quick pickled red onions, pickled daikon radices and carrots, and kimchi. A great way to stretch out leftovers a little bit further when you cannot handle repetition.

I love Bao Buns and always thought it was complicated to achieve. This Recipe was Excellent with step by step notes. Made it so easy to try my hand at it. Results were perfect and yummy.
Thank you!

Made these today and buns turned out great but I do have a question... What should the consistency of the dough be after it’s kneaded in a stand mixer for 10 minutes? My dough was smooth but it was quite stiff! After it doubled in size, rolling out the dough was a mega workout! What happened? Regardless, the buns steamed and puffed up like restaurant style. No complaints from the family but I can’t move my arms now. Haha! Any suggestions?

Awsome, I will be 51 on thanksgiving and this is first time I ever made anything like this, thank you MIKECHENX you rock

Rich, tender beef shortrib is balanced by sharp pickles in this authentic bao bun recipe by Erchen Chang, co-founder of London restaurant Bao. Try preparing them for a special occasion, such as Chinese New Year. This recipe is a labour of love – see the bao buns take shape in pictures with Erchen&#8217;s bao bun masterclass. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Bao buns with braised shortrib and pickled daikon

For the old dough

plain flour, plus extra to dust

fast-action dried yeast

milk

For the new dough

plain flour

caster sugar

salt

½ tsp baking powder

oil,

For the braised shortrib filling

Sunflower oil

British beef shortribs, ribs separated

garlic

onion,

soy sauce

Chinese rice wine vinegar

shaoxing wine

caster sugar (to taste)

For the quick-pickled vegetables

daikon,

carrots,

To serve

Mayo and chopped coriander leaves

You will also need…

Bamboo

To make the old dough, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl with a tiny pinch of salt, make a well in the centre and mix in the milk/water. Put on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3-4 minutes until soft. Return to the cleaned bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for at least 3 hours.

When the old dough has risen, make the new dough in the same way, adding the oil and milk/water to the dry ingredients. As the dough comes together it will look much drier than the old dough, but keep pushing it around the bowl to pick up any loose flour. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until fairly smooth. Tip the old dough on top of the new one and knead together for 3-4 minutes until combined and soft. Put the dough in a large oiled mixing bowl. Lightly grease a piece of cling film and cover the bowl. Leave in a warm place to rise while you make the filling and quick- pickled veg (see tips).

Meanwhile, put a large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add a good glug of sunflower oil. Fry the shortribs for 1-2 minutes, turning, until browned. Put in a deep roasting tin that fits the ribs snugly. Quickly brown the garlic and onion for 2-3 minutes in the frying pan, tossing regularly, then tip over the ribs.

Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and shaoxing, then pour into the roasting tin. Add enough water to come a quarter of the way up the ribs. Cover the tin tightly with foil, then roast for 3-3½ hours until tender.

While the beef is cooking, grate/shred the daikon and carrots using a food processor or box grater. Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt and 50ml cold water in a bowl. Mix the daikon and carrot with the pickling juice, then cover and leave for at least an hour at room temperature. Drain off the liquid, squeeze out any excess, then return to the bowl and chill until needed.

Once the ribs are cooked, remove the foil and set the ribs aside. Pour the liquid into a pan and reduce over a high heat for 10 minutes until syrupy and strongly flavoured (add a couple of pinches of sugar if you think it needs it). Carve the meat from the ribs (discard the bones), then toss with some sauce and keep covered with foil somewhere warm.

Roll the dough into a sausage shape on a lightly floured work surface. Cut into lengths and shape into 32 balls, roughly the size of golf balls. Flatten into ovals with a rolling pin, brush with oil, then fold in half over the thick end of a chopstick to give a small gap. Remove the chopstick, twirling it round as you go to increase the size of the hole a little, then leave to prove in a warm place, loosely covered with a tea towel, for 15 minutes or so. The buns will swell.

Put a steamer over a large pan containing 5cm water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the steamer). Put over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Put in a batch of buns, put the lid on and steam for 15 minutes. Keep the cooked ones warm under foil while you steam the others.

To assemble, open each bun and spread mayo on the bottom half. Put some meat on top, then spoon over more sauce. Top with the pickle and a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves, then eat immediately.

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Top 2 bao bun recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed bao bun recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Steamed Bao Buns

Bao buns with braised shortrib and ...

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