How To Make Bao Buns (Vegan)
These steamed lotus leaf bao buns are super soft and fluffy, easier to make than you might think and they freeze really well!
Servings 10 buns
Equipment
- bamboo steamer, steamer pan or steamer insert
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 5 g (1 ½ teaspoons) instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 90 ml (6 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 90 ml (6 Tablespoons) warm water
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil (I use olive) (plus extra for brushing)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the milk, water and oil to form a rough dough.
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and stretchy. It should be a bit sticky but not overly so; knead in a spoonful of extra flour if needed but don't add too much otherwise the buns may be dry.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the risen dough and knead briefly. Use a scale to divide it into 10 even pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball by gathering the edges up and pinching them together. Keep going until you have a neat, well-sealed ball. Flip the ball over, cup it with your hand over the top and roll it until it is smooth. Place the dough balls on a large plate and cover them with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one of the balls of dough out on a lightly floured surface into an approx 9 x 12 cm oval. Lightly brush the dough with oil and then fold it in half to form a semicircle. Repeat with the rest of the balls of dough.
- Place each bao on a square of baking paper (or line your steamer with baking paper with holes punched in it) and arrange them spaced apart in the steamer. Cover and leave to rise for about 30-40 minutes until puffy.
- Place the steamer over a wok or frying pan (or just the steamer base if using a metal tower one). Add cold water to the pan, making sure that it doesn't come up so high that it will touch the buns. Place the lid on the steamer basket.
- Place the pan over a high heat until it comes up to a boil then turn the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes.
- Without removing the lid, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. The buns are now ready to eat.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- If you cannot fit all of the buns in your steamer at once, place the extras on a baking sheet and loosely cover. Once they have risen, place them in the fridge to stop them from over proving while you steam the first batch of buns. Once the first batch is cooked, transfer the uncooked buns to the steamer and repeat the steaming process.
- If you are using a metal steamer pan or a steamer insert inside a large pan with a lid rather than a bamboo one the you will need to cover the inside of the pan lid with a tea towel or a couple of sheets of kitchen roll to prevent condensation from dripping on the buns and making them soggy.