Incredibly soft and fluffy, Chinese Steamed Buns make a brilliant bread to stuff pulled or crispy chicken and pork in and serve as a tasty appetizer! Unconventionally, our Bao Buns are made without a bamboo steamer, which most home cooks do not have! We utilise our metal steamer pan and an electric vegetable steamer to recreate these delicious little buns!
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We get it, we don't have a bamboo steamer basket either! But in this article, we will not only give you the recipe for the best steam buns but will show you the best way to make these fluffy buns without a traditional steamer.
All you need to do then is fill them with Chinese Pork Belly slices, or pulled pork, or make char siu bao buns with chicken! You can also use the same steaming method for dim sum!
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What Are Bao Buns?
Bao Buns are steamed sweet buns, originating in the Orient. Made with plain flour, cornflour (cornstarch), oil and yeast, they are proved, then shaped into a folded-over semi-circle and steamed to perfection to create a light and fluffy pocket to stuff savoury and sweet fillings in. Their fluffy texture created in the steaming process paired with flavorful fillings is truly irresistible.
What Flour is Best for Steamed Buns?
For the softest fluffiest buns, use flour with lower gluten content. Plain (all-purpose) flour works just fine, but if you have some cake flour (with 8-10% protein), use that!
Furthermore, if you are looking for that aesthetically pleasing snow-white colour found in Asian cuisine for your Bao Buns, try making them with bleached flour. It will create prettier buns, but won't affect the flavour. Make sure to add the cornflour into the mixture too - it helps to keep the buns light and fluffy when cooked in a humid environment.
Find the list of all the basic ingredients used in our fluffy steamed bao buns recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Method: Homemade Bao Buns
Mix the flour, cornflour (cornstarch), yeast, caster sugar and baking powder in a bowl of your stand mixer (we use and love Kenwood).
Mix warm water with vegetable oil and pour it into the dry ingredients.
Run your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on slow-medium speed for about 10-12 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic soft dough.
Tip the dough onto a work surface and shape a tight ball. Place it in a large clean bowl, cover it with cling film and let the dough rise in a warm spot to proof for 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Once doubled, scrape the dough onto a kitchen surface and knock the air out using the bottom of your palm. Knead it gently for a few minutes, then using a rolling pin, roll it out into a large rectangle, approx 0.5 cm in thickness.
Brush the whole surface of the dough with vegetable oil. Then use a 7-8cm pastry cutter to stamp out disks of dough. Reroll any scraps. We get 18-22 rounds of bao dough.
Cut 18-22 squares of baking parchment and arrange them on a large baking sheet. Brush all pieces of parchment paper lightly with vegetable oil. Place the stamped-out rounds on the sheets. Fold each round over and press down (the oiled dough will ensure the buns open up slightly when being steamed).
Loosely cover the buns with a lightly oiled cling film (plastic wrap) and leave in a warm spot to prove again for 30-45 minutes. The buns will puff up, but they shouldn't double in size.
You can use a finger test to make sure they are ready to steam. Gently press your finger on the surface of the bao bun: if it springs back slowly, they're ready, but if it springs back immediately, they need longer proofing.
We have a couple of recommended cooking methods that will yield excellent results without a traditional bamboo basket. We use a metal steamer pan/ flat-bottom colander or an electric steamer!
How to Steam Bao Buns in a Metal Steamer Pan?
Pour boiling water into a large pot that fits a steamer/ metal colander. It should also have a tight-fitting lid You will need the steamer sitting above the water level, so make sure your pan is not too large. Bring the water to a gentle simmer.
Place 3-4 buns (still on the baking parchment squares) in the colander/ steamer and lower them down. Make sure the bottom is at least 2 cm away from the water. Make sure the buns don't touch the sides of the pan, as the water will drip directly down the sides.
Steam the buns in batches for 10-12 minutes per batch (steaming time will depend on the thickness of the buns though). Be careful when taking the lid off so that the condensation doesn't drip down on the bao buns.
You can also try to cover the pan with a kitchen towel before placing the lid on top. The fabric will absorb the water and prevent the condensation from making your bao buns soggy. The bao should cook all the way through and be all soft and fluffy.
How to Cook the Chinese Steamed Buns in an Electric Vegetable Steamer?
Preheat the water in the water compartment of the steamer. Place the shaped buns in the second tear of the steamer still on the baking parchment. Make sure the buns don't touch the sides of the steamer, as the water will drip directly down the sides. Cover and steam for 10-12 minutes (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the buns though). Be careful when taking the lid off so that the water droplets don't drip down on the gua bao buns.
What to Fill Bao Buns With?
The world is your oyster! Whether you're a meat-eater or a vegan, there are so many delicious meat and vegetarian options you can enhance your Chinese Bao Buns with. Whilst BBQ Pork buns are most traditional, we love to stuff our buns with sticky Slow-Cooker Chinese Pork Belly, crispy honey chicken, slow cooker BBQ pulled pork, or pulled jackfruit, and then add some crunchy Asian-style slaw for a bit of texture.
And we absolutely love Char Siu Sauce in them! Some of our favourite recipes for bao bun fillings are:
- Asian-Style Satay Pulled Jackfruit (Vegan)
- Quick & Easy Honey Chicken
- Chinese BBQ Chicken
- Sticky Crispy Chinese Pork Belly In A Slow Cooker
More bao bun filling ideas here!
And if you are looking for a great slaw recipe, we absolutely love Asian Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Mayo and our Homemade Red Cabbage Slaw.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! Make them 1-2 days in advance, cool them to room temperature and store them in an airtight container. When you are ready to eat them, place them back into a steamer for a couple of minutes to soften and warm up.
Yes. Once steamed and cooled, place them in an airtight container/ bag and freeze. Before using them, defrost and reheat in the steamer for 2-3 minutes for the best results.
Cornflour is an essential ingredient for these steamed buns that are cooked in an extremely humid environment, as cornflour absorbs moisture very well. This means your buns stay light and have that signature fluffy and soft texture!
Typically, the restaurant's Bao Buns are made with bleached flour, which gives them both a snow-white colour and makes them softer. However, flavour-wise plain (all-purpose) flour is perfectly ok to use for steamed buns.
Serving size is always a subjective topic. Seb once ate 9 (!!!) of these buns filled with Chinese BBQ Pulled Chicken! If you are serving these buns as an appetiser, I would suggest 1 or 2. But if you want to make a meal centred around bao buns, serve 4-5 per portion with a side of edamame beans and other Asian-style salads.
More Chinese-Inspired Recipes
We love the sticky and sweet Chinese-inspired dishes. Especially the ones that come together quickly. Here are some of our absolute favourites:
- Chinese-Spiced Beetroot & Sweet Potato Salad (Vegan)
- Crispy Chilli Beef | Home-Made Chinese Take-Away Favourite
- Quick & Easy Honey Chicken
Homemade Bao Buns Without a Bamboo Steamer
Equipment
- Metal Steamer Pan or Electric Vegetable Steamer
Ingredients
For the Steamed Bao Buns:
- 300 g (2⅖ cups) plain flour
- 120 g (1 cups) cornflour
- 60 g (½ cups) caster sugar
- 3.5 g (1 teaspoon) fast-action yeast about ½ a packet
- 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 180 ml (⅘ cups) water lukewarm
- 60 ml (¼ cups) vegetable oil
Instructions
- Mix the flour, cornflour, yeast, caster sugar and baking powder in a bowl of your stand mixer.
- Mix warm water with vegetable oil and pour it into the dry ingredients.
- Run your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on slow-medium speed for about 10-12 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
- Tip the dough onto a work surface and shape a tight ball. Place it in a large clean bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm spot to proof for 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
- Once doubled, scrape the dough onto a kitchen surface and knock the air out using the bottom of your palm. Knead it gently for a few minutes, then roll it out into a large rectangle, approx 0.5 cm in thickness.
- Brush the whole surface of the dough with vegetable oil. Then use a 7-8cm pastry cutter to stamp out disks of dough. Reroll any scraps. We get 18-22 rounds of bao dough.
- Cut 18-22 squares of baking parchment and arrange them on a large baking sheet. Brush each square of parchment lightly with vegetable oil. Place the stamped-out rounds on the sheets. Fold each round over and press down (the oiled dough will ensure the buns open up slightly when being steamed).
- Losely cover the buns with a lightly oiled cling film and leave in a warm spot to prove again for 30-45 minutes. The buns will puff up, but they shouldn't double in size.
Cook in a Metal Steamer Pan:
- Pour boiling water into a large metal pan that fits a steamer/colander. You will need the steamer sitting above the water level, so make sure your pan is not too large. Bring the water to a gentle simmer.
- Place 3-4 buns (still on the baking parchment squares) in the colander/ steamer and lower them down. Make sure the bottom is at least 2 cm away from water. Steam the buns in batches for 10-12 minutes per batch. Be careful when taking the lid off so that the condensation doesn't drip down on the bao buns. The bao should cook all the way through and be all soft and fluffy.
Cook in an Electric Vegetable Steamer:
- Preheat the water in a water compartment of the steamer. Place the buns in the second tear of the steamer still on the baking parchment. Cover and steam for 10-12 minutes. Be careful when taking the lid off so that the condensation doesn't drip down on the bao buns.
Notes
Nutrition
Natalie says
These bao buns are a total discovery for me! It looks amazing and it is not hard to prepare. Will be making them soon again, thanks!
Ieva says
So glad you found these! We felt the same way when we first made them 🙂
Dionne says
I didn't know you can make them without a bamboo steamer. That is great to know there is an alternative.
Ieva says
Absolutely! It's really not hard to make without the bamboo steamer!
Mahy says
I always wanted to learn how to make bao buns but it never was a perfect timing really. Well, this recipe is too good - time to give the bao buns a try!
Ieva says
Thanks for the kind words, Mahy! Glad you decided to give them a try! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Tracy says
hi, thank you so much for your most inspiring post. these Boa were so lovely, leftovers were enjoyed the following morning for breakfast with jam! can you believe it, yes JAM! a total win. Although they're weren't as authentic as my gtrsandma used two make them, it definitely was simple and easy to follow that left a taste of memories tingling on our tastebuds.
Ieva says
Thank you so much for trying the recipe! I wish I could taste some truly authentic buns one day! And I have to try them with jam too - thanks for the idea 😀
Sarah James says
What an informative post, I've never tried making Bao Buns and looking forward to having a go. I'll being using a tea towel to stop the buns from going soggy and making them the day before and warming them up, thanks for sharing.
Ieva says
You are most welcome! A fabric teatowel is a great way to stop the water from dripping on them! 🙂
Gina Abernathy says
First time making steamed buns, but will not be the last. Loved them!
Ieva says
Thanks, Gina! 🙂
Dana says
oh my gosh, these turned out amazing!! I never thought I'd be making bao buns, but here we are, and it was so easy with your post!
Ieva says
Oh, I'm so glad you tried making these buns! 🙂
Katherine says
Thank you so much for showing how to make them without a bamboo steamer!
Ieva says
You are most welcome! 🙂
Jen says
These delicious little buns are so fun to make and eat!! MY whole family enjoyed it!
Michelle says
My husband has begging me to try making these at home. I'm so glad to find your recipe to make without a steamer!
Ieva says
Hope both you and your husband like them 💗
Anonymous says
So yummy! This recipe came out perfectly. I was very impressed at how it came together, I don’t usually bake with yeast & this was totally successful! My family LOVED it. Thanks so much for posting, I’ll definitely be making these again
Ieva Greber says
Thank you so muh for giving our recipe a go, so glad they turned out great! 🙂