Tangzong dumpling-inspired tall mantou and bao

I tried 5 different bao recipes in 2025, probably my most prolific trial of bao methods. I shall exclude the 5 Black grain mantou attempt which is not directly comparable because cooked blended grain mixture was integrated into the bao dough itself rather than the filling. Otherwise it's a standard mix and one-proof receipt. I'm also excluding the Custard recipe which I didn't try but noted it down because of the filling, where oil is added in 3 stages like brioche. 

The next three are all hand kneading. There is the summer yeasted mantou which adds the yeast water in after the dough has been kneaded. It has a shorter proofing time due to summer and will apparently make taller beautiful buns. The last 2 trials are by the same blogger which focuses on the fillings. First is black sesame filling which has a milk bun with very short proofing time. The second focuses on the custard filling using the same method and a short proofing time.

This latest mantou recipe ZhenMaDaiWaJi uses the scalded flour method often used with making the stretchy skin associated with dumplings. Basically tangzhong. This is also hand kneading with minimal proofing time. This method is similar to Little Goose Food mantou recipe who also uses scalded flour. Goose explains that adding just boiled water introduces a fragrance to the scalded flour and cooks the gluten. However, Goose kneads the dough and rests it for 10 mins, then kneads to smooth surface. Then she separately kneads in yeasted water and knead for 2 mins to incorporate. This 'later yeasted method', she explains, results in a smoother skin.

Both videos describes a better method of making tall beautiful buns.

Ingredients (makes 14)

30g flour

250g just boiled water

500g flour

3g instant yeast

Method

1. Mix the 30g flour with just boiled water. 

2. Once dissolved, add in 500g flour. Use chopsticks to stir and make a claggy dough.

3. When the dough is warm to the touch (ie not scalingly hot still), prepare the yeast. Add the yeast to 1 tbsp of water and stir to dissolve. Add the yeast mixture to the dough and mix to form a claggy dough.

4. Knead on a benchtop until the skin is smooth. Better yet, let it relax for 10 minutes after kneading.

5. Without needing to proof, go ahead and form the balls. Roll and knead each and tuck into a ball so that it forms a smooth skin. Here's the main tip - form tall cylinders using the cupping action. (see the videos, Little Goose gives a better step-by-step tutorial. Form a ball first then put on the surface and roll between the palms to form tall cylinders.)

6. Place each on parchment. Put in a steamer, on top of a wok filled with warm water. Let it proof until 1.5x the size. The bao would have grown without flattening and expanding sideways. When you lightly indent the side with a finger, it will spring back out.

7. The water should have returned to room temp by now. Turn on the heat and steam for 15 mins counting from once the water boils. 

Pretty pleats and the inside is moist and even has 'gravy'!

If using filling, a very similar method by QiaoXieXXiaoYu with different proportions.

Bao ingredients

50g flour 

250g boiling water (slightly more if flour is too dry)

450g flour

3-5g instant yeast

Filling ingredients

500g minced pork

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp bullion powder

Pinch of salt

Dash of white pepper

30g lard, liquid

50g spring onion, chopped

100g infused water (ginger, spring onion infusion, sichuan peppercorn)

Method

1. Add the just off the boil water to the 50g flour and mix.

2. Add in the 450g flour and mix. Add in the yeast (she didn't let it cool down!). Knead for about 10 minutes (far from windowpane and smooth). Depressing the finger indentations into the dough doesn't cause the indentations to spring back up. Cover and proof until 2x the size, approx 70mins.

3. Meanwhile prepare the filling. Mix all the ingredients except the water. Mix the meat with chopsticks in one direction until sticky.

4. Add in the water a bit at a time and continue stirring in 1 direction.

5. Add in the liquid lard and chopped spring onions. Refrigerate.

6. The bao sld have proofed sufficiently. Knead to degas on the benchtop surface. The surface should be very smooth now and a depressed indentation springs back. 

7. Roll into a long log. Cut into chunks. Roll each chunk flat to degas then roll into a ball. (See the video).

8. Roll each wrapper flat with a chinese rolling pin. I used this method by Ah Cheen to make dumpling skins which involves applying pressure on alternating sides to automatically produce a very round-shaped dumpling skin. This only works if you don't need a skin with a slightly thicker centre and thin edges.

9. When adding filling, I used this very detailed bao wrapping method by LiFenFen to produce many uniform crimps. Cup to smoothen the surface and then roll between both palms to form a tall cylinder.

Documenting my attempts over the years (not exhaustive), where I nearly gave up around 2023-2024 and just didn't bother pleating anymore. I finally did it thanks to this video!

10. Place in a steamer on parchment. Place steamer over a wok with hot water to proof for 10 to 15 mins. Once a finger indentation springs back, it's time for steaming. (basically I just waited until I finished wrapping all the remaining bao).

11. Once the water has boiled, steam for 12 mins. Turn off the heat and allow to rest for further 3 minutes before opening the cover. Skin will be super elastic and bouncy (like dumpling skin).

Recipe feedback

- Definitely a keeper as far as ease of handling the dough, keeping the pleats distinct, and minimal proofing time required! As far as a hand kneading recipe goes, this is pretty close to prefect. Sure the bao isn't as bouncey and fluffy as with longer proofing but frankly, this is pretty close!

- Because the dough is more elastic than fluffy, it more closely resembles dumpling dough. This bao would make a great bao jian fried and steamed on the pan, with crispy bottom.

- Update: There's a recipe that combines both the scalded flour AND post-yeasted method. The scalded flour traps the moisture whereas adding the yeast afterwards is supposed to make the dough more easy to knead and thus produce a smoother (less dimplied) shinier skin.

HK custard steamed bao

I don't really know what the difference is between this recipe and the one which involves more ingredients such as 3 flours and salted butter that i used here but until I have time to try both (and i'm not really a fan of making custard from scratch), I thought I'd give this recipe a try. It is by the same blogger who gave me this highly successful black sesame bao that only needed one proofing, so I'm more keen to try this recipe. This recipe by LinXianShen again.

Being so easy to wrap, my shape is perfect!

Filling is a bit dry rather than the runny custard I was expecting

Custard 

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

150ml milk

30g corn starch

30g normal flour

1 tbsp sugar

30g oil or lard

Method

1. Pour ingredients into a non-stick saucepan or pot. Stir on a small fire. Stir until it comes together and is workable and can be folded, much like a dough. It should not stick to the pan.

2. Wrap with plastic wrap and it should touch the surface so the custard doesn't form a skin. Chill for at least 3 hours.

3. Divide into 10 portions and roll into balls.

Bao (makes 10)

Ingredients

400g flour (normal or bao flour)

5g sugar

4g yeast

200ml warm water

(Note: My flour package was 500g so I added in the extra 100g with 50g milk, which makes extra 2 kosong bao)

Method

1. Pour ingredients into a mixing bowl. With a pair of chopsticks, stir until the dough comes together into a claggy ball.

2. Knead until smooth, about 10 to 15 mins. Form a ball and tuck underneath to promote a smooth surface, 

3. Roll out into a rectangle, around ½ inch thick. Use a cutter to cut out circles of around 5cm diameter. [Alternatively, divide into 10 portions, roll into balls, then using the usual bao method to roll out a disc with thinner edges than at the centre.]

4. Wrap each custard ball in the disc and crimp together using bao wrapping technique. Turn it seam facing downwards. With palms, use a cupping motion to create a rounder ball.

5. Place each bao straight onto parchment into the steamer. Allow to proof for around 25 mins until the baos expand to about 1.5 times. Press a finger gently on the bao surface and the indentation should spring back.

6. Place the steamer on top of a wok of room temp water and turn up the flame to maximum. Steam for 15 minutes then turn off the fire and leave covered for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe feedback

- Again another great recipe from LinXianShen! The filling is the BEST, so easy to wrap. However, it is very dry, but perhaps that is the cha chan ting type of custard bao.

- The dough isn't as pliable as the black sesame bao even though it's pretty much the same recipe but I still did about 13 to 14 minutes of kneading, this time in 29 deg weather compared to 23 deg weather. Maybe that makes all the difference. 

Summer yeasted Mantou (后酵母 method）

This mantou dough XiaoHong uses a different method with single proof by adding the yeast AFTER the dough has been kneaded. 

Ingredients

500g bao or regular flour

270g warm water

5g instant yeast + 5g water

Method

1. Mix the flour and water and knead until a dough forms. Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes. The dough already comes out smooth.

2. In a small bowl, add 5g of instant yeast to 5g water. Mix until combined and bloomed.

3. Create a well in the dough and pour in. Slowly pull and fold from outside in and knead until combined for about 2 minutes.

4. Roll into a log and divide into around 10 pieces. Flatted and continue kneading and then form balls.

5. Place in a steamer lined with paper. Cover and allow to proof until 1.5 to 2x, until the dough springs back when gently depressed with a thumb.

6. With the steamer on top, turn on the flame to high and steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the fire and allow to rest for 3 minutes. The bao should be fluffy and moist.

Ingredients

250g just boiled water

500g bao or regular flour

3g yeast

Method (makes 6)

1. Into the hot water, grab a handful of flour and put into the water. Use chopsticks to stir into paste.

2. Add the remaining flour and stir with chopsticks. This will yield a claggy dough. Use hands to gather into a ball. The hot water will break the gluten structures to make the buns more soft and bouncy.

3. Cover to rest for 10 mins.

4. Once it's relaxed, knead for 10 to 15 minutes until the surface is smooth. 

5. Press it flat into a rectangle and make an indentation in the centre. Add the yeast into the centre. Add around 1 to 2 tbsp of water just to dissolve the yeast. Roll up the dough and knead until the yeast is well incorporated, around 5 minutes. Using this method, it's easy to form a dough with a smooth surface.

6. Roll into a log and divide into 6 pieces. Knead each piece to release the gas, and form a ball with your palm. Then, roll to form a tall cone.

7. Place directly into the steamer onto parchment. Cover and allow to rest until 1.5x or until a finger indentation on the surface springs back.

8. Start a wok with water on high. Only when the water is rapidly boiling, put the steamer on top and steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the flame and rest for 3 minutes.

Similarly Chui Jie uses this recipe for summer. This recipe has 5g yeast with 250g water and 500g flour. She kneads 3x for around 5 minutes each, but rests in between each kneading. The dough is easier to knead than 15 mins upfront. She says using this method of adding yeast later, all the buns rise at the same time to the same size. She also starts the steaming from cold water.

3-flour Custard bao redux

This blog is littered with bao disasters, including this custard creamed bao that went so wrong (dense, raw and ugly and collapsed, using single proofing) I never tried custard or creamed corn-fillings again. I had also tried a milk bao that used 2 flours (cake and plain) but needed 2 proofings of about an hr each. It was nothing to write home about but relatively easy to work with. There was also a char siu bao dough that used normal flour, wheat starch, vinegered water with baking power but despite all that work, it looked ugly. While easy to work with, it was too stretchy and tore easily, and instead of rising, it grew sideways and was too flat. 

This recipe by Ruyi attempts to remedy all these attempts which uses 3 flours, oil and baking powder in an attempt to create fluffy dim sum bao. The video is particularly helpful with how to wrap and shape so that the buns come out round and smooth. 

Ingredients

Custard filling

3 room temp egg yolks, try to remove as much white as possible

150ml milk

75g sugar

20g cake flour

50g salted butter (it must be salted or the butter will separate from the custard)

1. Whisk the egg yolks then add sugar and whisk till pale.

2. Add the cake flour and mix well then set aside.

3. Heat up the salted butter and milk on medium heat and stir once in a while until small bubbles form. Do not boil. Remove from the stove.

4. Quickly whisk the yolk mixture and slowly drizzling in half the scaled milk in a steady stream. Continue to whisk and pour back into the pot and back onto a medium heat.

5. Once the mixture starts to thicken, switch to low heat. Continue to whisk until lump and remove into a bowl. Cover with cling film right onto the custard to prevent it forming a skin.

6. Fridge for min 3 hrs or even overnight.

Alternatively just make instant custard filling

170ml milk

3 tbsp custard powder

2½ tbsp sugar

1. Combine the custard powder, milk and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil but stirring constantly otherwise it will boil over.

2. Alternatively use a microwave at small increments at 50 to 80% power otherwise it boils over, been there done that! 1min 30s at 1000W.

3. Also keep in the cover and keep in the fridge for at least 3 hours or best overnight. 

Dough (makes 10)

160g superfine (9.5% protein)/HK/Bao flour (normal flour will yield a chewier dough)

40g cake flour

30g wheat starch

45g icing sugar

½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp instant yeast

130ml room temp water

30ml veg oil

1. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except the oil. Use a chopstick to ensure all the ingredients are combined.

2. Add the cooking oil in 3 batches and knead in until dough feels smooth, about 10 mins.

3. Divide the dough into 30 equal portions of around 43-44g each. Cover with damp towel and rest for 5 minutes.

4. Roll out one ball at a time with a thicker centre. Flatten to around 9.5 cm disc.

5. Divide the custard into 10 balls and roll each roughly into a ball.

6. In the centre of each dough disc, flatten the custard into the centre and cupping your hand, use a spoon to push the filing into the 'cup' formed by your hand. Pleat to seal and turn over onto the table. Using your sides of your palms, rotate to form a tall cylindrical shape rather than round ball. As it proofs, it will expand sideways and become the bao shape we want instead of a flattened mess.

7. Transfer to a lined steaming rack. Allow to proof until 1.5 to 2x. When depressed gently, the dough should spring back.

8. Place straight onto a steamer and turn on to high heat and steam for 15 minutes from room temp. Once done, turn off the fire and leave covered for another 10 minutes.

9, Best served warm but remove from the water to avoid getting soggy.

10. Keep in the fridge and steam for 10 minutes on high heat to reheat. Else store in the freezer and steam on high heat from frozen for 15 minutes. Custard sld be eaten when the bao is warm otherwise it is hard.

Black sesame bao with black sesame filling

I last tried a black sesame bao here with minimal kneading but both the dough and filling were too wet making it too hard to work with; and again here as a black sesame mantou that was also a very wet dough. This is a recipe with minimal kneading and proofing by LinXianShen.

Filling (makes 1 cereal bowl volume of filling)

100g roasted black sesame powder

15g glutinous rice flour

40g white sugar

20g lard

250g water

1. Put in a pot and on low fire, heat until it bubbles and turns into a sticky slurry (still quite liquidy). 

2. Put in the fridge to harden.

Bao dough (makes 10)

400g bao or regular flour

25g roasted black sesame powder

1 tbsp sugar

4g instant yeast

½ C of warm milk (use more or less as needed)

1. Combine with a chopstick until no more dry flour.

2. Roll into a dough. Knead for about 10 to 15 minutes until smooth.

3. Roll out into an oblong, about ½ inch thick. Use a 4 or 5" cutter to stamp out circles.

4. Using about 2 chinese tablespoons of cold filling, encase in the bao skin. Make into round buns and place in a steaming basket.

5. Cover and proof for 20 mins.

6. Turn on the flame to high (water from room temp) and steam for 13 mins. Turn off the fire and leave covered for 3 mins.

Recipe feedback

- Compared to the previous black sesame bao, this recipe is perfect! The filling amount is just enough and the dough is very workable. Shows that you don't need oil in the dough to make it pliable.

- Only issue is I forgot to roast and grind the sesame BEFORE making the filling (so I put it in the food processor after cooking), and also couldn't be bothered to grind the white sesame seeds (I ran out of black) for the dough. It turned out well because it gave the bao some crunch!

- I thought the lack of proofing time would make the bao hard but i was wrong! I really hand kneaded for 15 minutes with all my newfound arm power and then rested for maybe 10 mins while I prepared the steamer and washed up, before wrapping and forming the baos. Also, the bao only got 20 minutes at the end to proof, so I was worried cos they hardly seemed to have grown in size. Steaming at full heat really caused it to poof up so much that they all stuck together and to my steamer!

- Tip - really roll out the dough as large as possible (leaving the centre thicker) cos the filling is very liquid even after being in the fridge for 6 hours. The tip of cupping the palm to hold the dough and then 'applying' the filling onto the dough worked; then pleat, crimp and seal as per usual bao technique. Even though I then turned the seam over onto the parchment and the shape wasn't totally round, bao came out ok and didn't look too weird with the pleats underneath.

5 black grain mantou

From this FB recipe by MiaoVibe.

Ingredients (makes 12 four-inch wide)

50g black sesame seeds

20g black rice (I substituted with 20g raisins)

20g black beans

20g blackberries (I substituted with 20g frozen blueberries)

10g black goji (I used regular)

10g walnuts

400ml water

600g flour (I used bread flour)

5g instant yeast

1 tbsp white sugar

pinch of salt

1 tbsp lard or butter

Notice the size difference (the bottom 6) of the second batch that had 30 mins extra proofing (due to waiting for the first batch to steam) compared to the first batch

Method

1. Add the grains, walnuts and black fruits to a blender with 400g of water. Using the Soya milk mode, blend. Allow to cool down.

2. Pour the flour on a table. Create a well and add the yeast, sugar and salt (keep salt away from the yeast). Mix well.

3. Pour in the grain mixture. Use hands to knead till no flour is left. Use a scraper to gather the dough if it helps.

4. Place in a bowl and cover. Allow to proof for 1 hr until about it grows to about 1.5x.

5. Turn out of the bowl and deflate. Knead and the longer you do so, the softer the bun.

6. Flour the surface well. Form into a log and cut into equal sized pieces. Form a ball with each. Makes about 12 (approx 108 to 110g of dough each).

7. Place directly in the steamer and place over a wok of warm water to proof for 15 to 30 mins. 

8. Remove the steamer and turn on the fire till it starts boiling. Put the steamer back on the wok and steam on medium high for 30 minutes. Leave covered for 10 minutes after switching off the flame.

Recipe feedback

- Overall a very wet dough. I didn't use mixer and mixed by hand throughout.

- The second batch that had an extra 30 minutes of proofing while waiting for the first batch to steam came out so much fluffier! A definite must-do if time permits.

- So far, those recipes that I used bao flour here and here and here all using KA have been most successful. They have been easy to shape too but the issue is that their 'face' never comes out smooth and they always tend to flatten and crawl out sideways. 

- If only this recipe's dough wasn't so wet and difficult to work with, it would have been great for wrapping bao. Their 'faces' and shape came out smooth and round!

Minimal kneading Black sesame bao

Ugly sesame bao. Nearly all had burst!

Black sesame filling: https://www.facebook.com/reel/472716605688076

For Tangyuang and Bao fillings which are more flowy (compared to mooncake).

Ingredients

160g roasted black sesame powder

80g glut rice flour

150g sugar

180g water

80g pork lard (would usually be hardened)

Method

1. Mix the black sesame powder, flour and sugar well and set aside. 

2. To the water, add the pork lard. Bring to a simmer until the hardened pork lard melts.

3. Pour the liquid lard into the powders. Mix well.

4. Place in the fridge for several hours until it is less runny and roll/portion into desired filling portions. 

Recipe feedback - the filling is VERY flowy, making it difficult to wrap. It might be easier to freeze it for a few hours. There was lots of filling left if this bao recipe is used.

Bao skin https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1631050780771945

Needs 500 to 600g of filling. Makes 12 to 13.

Makes a very wet dough but requires very little handling. Original video uses partially cooked fatty pork filling. (half cooked pork mince mixed with uncooked pork mince so that the filling is not one whole lump)

Ingredients

300g flour (for starter) + 100g 

3g instant dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

20g pork lard

230g warm water

Method

1. Combine ingredients. Use a chopstick to combine by stirring in one direction only. The dough has a high moisture content so no need to knead the dough. 

2. Once all the dough has come together and there are no more dry spots, form a ball (with the chopsticks) and cover with clingfilm. Allow to prove until it has doubled in size.

3. Uncover and use chopsticks to stir in one direction to dispel the gas. Pour in a small chinese rice bowl (around 100g) of flour. Use a spatula to mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

4. Scrape the dough into an oblong shape and lift out onto a work surface.

5. Form a long rectangular shape gently with your hands. Using a dough cutter, cut into 2 finger wide strips.

6. No need to roll out. Use palms to flatten into a ball and use fingers to flatten the dough into a disc. (If the dough still feels too sticky to the touch, dust hands with flour). Should make about 2 to 3 inch wide bao.

7. Wrap the filling, about 2 tsp full. Ensure to seal well. 

8. Place wrapped baos into a steamer rack on top of a wok. Do not switch on the flame yet. Allow to prove the second time until the baos are visually larger. (a trick: put a ball of leftover dough in a bowl of water in the same steaming rack. When the ball floats, all have proved sufficiently).

9. Once sufficient proved, turn on the flame to high, and steam for 15 minutes (from boiling). Turn off the flame and leave it to rest for 2 minutes before removing the cover.

Recipe feedback: The skin was very soft and difficult to work with due to the high moisture content. It was impossible to seal properly and shape. 

- Further, the filling was so flowy so it kept spilling onto the seam. Once the filing fouled the wrapper, it was impossible to seal to encase the filling, not to mention it mucked up the pristine look of the wrapper.

Spring onion Flower buns

This 花卷 is a northern Chinese bun used in place of noodles and rice, unlike southern Chinese cuisine. There are several ways of rolling the bun but the ingredients and method are pretty similar. However, I've not had good experience with the standard 包 method so I prefer to use the revolutionary recipe I've found except the pleats may not come out so nicely.

Here are several video recipes I've found with bun rolling techniques and also standard recipes. 

1. Deliholic: Three different ways of cutting or rolling the buns

2. Revy loves big apple: cautions that adding soda to spring onion can ensure the colour stays green but the powder stains the bun yellow.

: cautions against buns that aren't well-rested won't roll into nice flowers but will tear.

: Combine then rest 10 minutes while preparing the scallions, knead 5 minutes and rest 10 minutes, roll into buns then rest until buns have proved to twice their size (no time given), steam 15 minutes.

3. Magic ingredients: Most comprehensive video

: says that no special flour or yeast

: Combine then knead 10 minutes or rest 15 minute before kneading if the bun is too 'tight'. Rest 1.5 hours and prepare scallions. Pan fry the onions with salt and cool. After proving, knead for 3 minutes before rolling into buns. This 3-minute kneading can be omitted but will result in smoother buns. However, this will cause the buns to tighten up again, which will require 15 minutes resting before forming the buns. If the buns prove too hard to form into the flower shape, rest 5 minutes. Prove 1 hour. Steam 15 minutes but let steam escape 5 minutes.

4. Cook with Bin

: nothing really special about this except the use of salt and pepper or other taste to the bun and fold 4 times rather than 3.

: highlights that you know the buns have proofed correctly when they feel light rather than dense

Ingredients (makes 12 to 14)

Followed this recipe but increased to 500g of flour in total

Starter

250g bao flour

2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

200ml warm water

1. Mix sugar with water until dissolved.

2. Add bao flour and mix. Sticky batter. Cover and allow to rise for 2.5 hours in a warm place.

Filling

1 spring onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

salt and pepper to taste (or 5 spice powder)

When the starter is proofing, chop up 1 spring onion finely. Add a pinch of baking soda and fry in 2 tbsp oil until just fragrant. Add optional 2 tsp sesame seeds. Set aside to cool.

Main bao

250g bao flour

3 tbsp sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

3 to 4 tbsp of water (just enough to bring dough together)

1 tbsp + 2 tsp lard or veg oil

¼ tsp salt

1. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and combine.

2. To the starter, add the lard and water. Combine. It will be very sticky and wet.

3. Add the dry mixture and mix well. Beat (if using KA) until it cleans the side of the bowl. If using hand, mix in the bowl until the bowl comes clean. Transfer onto flour surface and knead for 10 minutes. Shape into a ball. Allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes before shaping if the dough is too taut.

4. Roll out the dough until about 1cm thick and rectangular. Layer on the spring onion oil. Less is more! Sprinkle on salt and pepper. Fold on the long edge 3-4 times (width of each fold should be length of index finger) and pat down after each fold.

5. Cut strips, about 2cm wide alternated with 1.5cm wide. Lay the thinner strip on top of the thicker strip. Pull both ends then twist around a chopstick twice (watch the video). Lay the rosette down on the table and hold it between third and fourth fingers,  pin down the seams and carefully withdraw the chopstick.

6. Let the buns rest in a covered steamer for 10 minutes. You know they're ready when you pick them up and they feel light rather than dense. Heat up the water from cold with the buns on top. Once the water starts to boil, steam for 10 to 12 minutes.

7. Turn off the fire and open a side slit to let the steam escape. After 5 minutes of resting, serve.

Recipe feedback

- Less really is more with the filling. Following one blogger, I chopped up the spring onions as much as I could. Also, following another blogger, I tried to spread a very thin layer of oil but still was too enthusiastic. This meant the bun was very hard to twist (because it was oily and going everywhere) and form into a nice tight rosette. However it kept the 'petals' fairly separate and pretty.

- It's important to salt the bun either in the mixture or in the bun itself.

Traditional char siu bao (Sponge method)

I saw this video by Kat Kwa and got really excited. I have been attempted bao-making since 2015 (my very first attempt) and it's never been really successful. With the earlier recipes, I focused on getting the technique and ingredients (e.g., adding milk or wheat flour) correct. However, as long as I continued to use flour (or even cake flour), it always failed. The skin was tough and chewy, or very dense. 

The first breakthrough came when I changed to pao flour where the texture was fluffy, and I had even more success when I changed to KA to beat and also used the bao packet's own recipe. However while I got a satisfactory bao (not char siu bao) texture, the issue was that shape was wrong as the buns were always too flat. Some recipes have suggested that this spread may happen because the dough has been over-proved or because the filling was too wet.

For char siu bao, the main issues were getting the right pillowly texture and to get it to split open on top and 'smile'. Desperate, I even tried to compare the different recipes and methods. For char siu baos, the main 'trick' seemed to be using shortening (or lard) as opposed to oil and a little bit of baking powder. I even saw one blogger cut across the top of the bao to get it to 'smile' but that's definitely the wrong approach.

The main difference from Kat Kwa's recipe is that she not only uses shortening and baking powder, her proofing is all upfront rather than along the way. She only allows short resting periods to let the dough relax once she starts working with it. In terms of looks, she still closes it tight using the traditional bao wrapping technique rather than tries to get it to split open and 'smile' like what dim sum restaurants do. In fact, she even crimps the bao skin very tightly closed to ensure no leakage.

I decided to try her recipe but augmented to pork because I don't have char siu on hand (400g mince pork, 1 egg, salt and pepper, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1 tbsp potato starch, 1 chopped spring onion). More importantly, I wanted to focus on the getting the correct texture and shape first.

Ingredients (makes 12) and methods

Yeast dough

150g bao flour

1 tsp yeast

½ tsp sugar

125 ml warm water

1. Mix sugar with water until dissolved. 

2. Add the bao flour and mix. Batter will be very sticky. Cover and allow to proof for 2 hours in a warm place.

Filling and sauce

350g char siu, diced

3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 spring onion, chopped

3 shallots, flattened

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

3 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp pepper

1 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp corn starch

125 ml water

Method

1. Prepare everything by chopping, toasting, etc. Fry aromatics in a little oil.

2. Pour in the ingredients for the sauce. 

3. Once the sauce gets sticky, add the cubed char siu. Fold in. The whole mixture will be very gloupy and sticky.

Bao dough

40g (2 ½ tbsp) sugar

150g bao flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp lard or veg shortening or cooking oil

1. Once the yeast dough has finished proofing, add the sugar and mix well until dissolved.

2. Add the lard and 3 tbsp of water. Combine well. It will be difficult to do at first but persist. It will be very sticky and wet at this stage.

3. Finally, add the flour and baking powder. The dough will start off claggy but continue to beat. The dough will start to stretch and 'clean' the side of the bowl. At the end you will have a clean bowl.

4. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

5. Roll out into a rectangle, then fold. Roll out again and then roll up into a log (see video). Cut into 12 equal pieces and cover under a damp cloth.

6. With each piece, gently tug and tuck until a smooth ball forms. (see video) Cover with damp cloth.

7. Take out one at a time to work on. Using a round rolling pin, rotate the dough as you flatten the edges, leaving the centre unrolled (and thicker than the edges). Roll out all the dough in a similar manner and cover with cloth.

8. Taking one out to work on, flatten the edges between the thumb and index. Cup one hand and drape the dough on top. Fill the centre with approx 1 chinese soup tbsp of balled up filling, and then gently press the filling down into the cupped hand (watch video). 

9. Pleat to close the bun and ensure tightly sealed. (watch video). After each bao has been filled, place into a bamboo steamer. Once all the steamer has been filled, cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, bring a wok of water to a rolling boil. After resting the buns, steam on high heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

11. At the end of the cooking time, switch off the flame and open the lid to leave it slightly ajar for the steam to escape.

12. Remove from steamer and serve. For the uneaten ones, allow to air dry (so bottoms don't get soggy).

Feedback: This recipe is a success!

- I used lard but the porky smell was very obvious when working the dough. After steaming, there was also a strong porky smell but it was hard to say if it came from the bun or the meat.

- The texture is soft and fluffy! However, the pleats didn't stay because the dough is very stretchy. I decided to change my usual wrapping style to momo style and that seemed to produce more pronounced pleats.

- I took the time to roll the dough ball to make the skin smooth before flattening and filling, and it shows. The skin looks less dimpled and rippled than normal.

- I kept the filling very dry and balled it up and the bao didn't spread and flatten! It helped that all the proofing was done at the beginning so it becomes harder to over-proof.

Sun Right pork bun

I am naming this recipe the Sun Right pork bun because the bao flour comes from the Sun Right brand and this is the recipe printed on the packet. The packet's recipe is based on 350g of flour (to make 20 buns using 500g of minced pork). However because the packet is 1kg, I decided to use 500g so that it's easier the next time so here are my adjustments.

Ingredients (Makes 36*3" baos or 18*4.5" baos)

500g bao flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp instant yeast

3 tsp sugar (because this is a savoury recipe; the packet says 3 tbsp sugar for 350g flour which I feel is a tad sweet unless you're using char siu?)

1 tbsp oil

1 cup milk, warmed to 40 deg C

1 cup + ¼ cup water, warmed to 40 deg C

Filling

500g pork mince

2 tsbp of water

1 tbsp oil

3 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp light soya sauce (add another 1 tsp salt if not on a low salt diet like me)

Dash of white pepper

Method

1. In the KA bowl, mix the bao flour, salt, yeast, and sugar. Try to ensure that the salt doesn't come into direct contact with the yeast or it will deactivate the yeast. I usually mix both into the flour separately before incorporating everything.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Using a dough whisk or chopsticks, slowly pour the oil into the centre of the well. Mix. Next, slowly pour the milk in and mix. Similarly, slowly pour the 1 cup of water in. Check for how wet the dough is. If there are still dry spots, pour in the leftover ¼ cup about a tbsp of a time. You may not need to use all of the ¼ cup of water.

3. Put on the KA dough hook. Turn on to Speed 1. At this point, if there are still dry spots, add in 1 tsp at a time until just enough to wet all the dry flour. 

4. Turn up to Speed 2. Stop periodically (perhaps every minute initially) to scrape the dough off the hook and down back into the bowl. Otherwise the dough may climb up the hook and into the motor.

5. Once the dough looks smooth and shiny, check using the window pane method. Another sign is that the dough separates into smaller balls in the bowl. Remove the bowl from the KA. Remove the dough and oil the bowl. Ball up the dough and return to the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and then a tea towel and set aside in a warm place to proof for about 45 mins to 1 hr until the dough doubles in size.

6. Punch down the air and remove the dough. Divide into 36 lumps (about 32 to 33g per lump). Flatten and roll out, leaving the centre slightly thicker than the edges. Add about 2 tsp of pork mince (if making 4.5" inch bao, use 3 - 4 tsps of filling). Stack it up as tall as you can. This will look like a cylinder rather than a ball.

7. Allow to proof for 45 minutes. When the time is almost up, bring water to a rolling boil. Once the steamer is put on, turn down to a medium high flame. (Ensure that the cover is wrapped in a tea towel or use a bamboo steamer otherwise the condensation will drip on the bao and ruin its 'face'.) Steam the buns for 10 minutes. Turn off the flame and leave it to rest for a further 2 minutes.

8. Serve immediately.

Custard creamed corn bao

Quite disappointed with this recipe but am unsure cos there are too many new variables. First of all, the this is a new recipe and looks really simple - 7 minutes kneading, 7 minutes resting, and only proving 20 minutes. It was meant to solve all my past issues with ugly looking bao that are lop sided and have wrinkly skin. Second, my dough was a bit wetter than intended, which made handling the bao and sealing up the filling really difficult. Third, I follow the recipe and used the microwave to make the custard, but perhaps because I'm using a different brand and doubling the portions, it came out really lumpy. Next time I'll go back to using the stove even though it may be more work. Fourth, I used my new bamboo steamer so I'm wondering if that affected? I had my metal steamer side by side and also following the instructions, started steaming from cold so that affected all the timing and made it dry out yet uncooked inside. Comparing the bao from the metal to the bamboo steamer, the metal steamer seemed to keep the moisture in better and also there was more lift. Fifth, I doubled all the portions so perhaps it is still my fault in the end!

I might not try the recipe again for the bao dough but stick to the red bean bao dough recipe.

Recipe adapted from: https://mykitchen101en.com/steamed-corn-custard-pao-chinese-steamed-bun/

Ingredients for custard filling (makes 10) (makes 19)

170ml milk (240ml)

3 tbsp custard powder (6 tbsp)

2½ tbsp sugar (5 tbsp)

90g cream style corn (180g)

1 slice cheddar (2 slices)

Method 

1. Combine the sugar, milk, custard powder in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and stir until smooth. Remove from stove. (Original recipe uses microwave, 1min 30seconds at 1000w)

2. Pass through a sieve to get rid of lumps.

3. Add the cream corn and stir until combined.

4. Cut up the sliced cheddar and stir until combined.

5. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Cover with cling film, ensuring that the film touches the surface of the custard so that it doesn't form a skin. Leave in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for bao (upsized to 500g)

280g (2¼ + 4 tbsp) bao flour (500g)

20g (2½ tbsp) cornstarch (5 tbsp)

1 tsp instant yeast (2 tsp)

65g (⅓C) fine sugar (less 2x at 120g)

200ml milk (350 to 400ml)

20g (1½ tbsp) veg oil (3 tbsp)

pinch of salt

Method

1. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar and stir well. Add the yeast and stir.

2. Gradually pour the milk until a dough is formed. Do not use up all of the milk but only until the dough just comes together with a few dry spots.

3. Pour in the oil and knead until blended. If there are still dry spots, add as much milk as needed to moisten the spots

4. Knead for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough is shiny and smooth and no longer sticky. 

5. Cover and rest for 6-7 minutes.

6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and fold into thirds. Roll out again and then roll up into a cyclinder.

7. Cut into 10 portions. Cover half of the dough.

8. Roll into a circle with a thicker centre. Fill with 1½ tbsp filling. Seal proper so that the filling doesn't leak out. Put on prepared parchment (Original recipe uses flattened muffin cases)

9. Prove for 20 minutes. (Original recipe has a complicated method of bringing to a boil 500ml of water, then adding 1 l of water and putting the steaming basket on top). Try to prevent over-proofing otherwise the skin will wrinkle after steaming.

10. Steam on medium heat for 15 minutes, then turn off the flame and let it rest for 3 minutes before removing.

Recipe feedback

Comparing this recipe with my red bean bao which also used 500g of bao flour, this recipe used only 2 tsp of yeast (so only 1 proofing) compared to the 2 tbsp yeast (Edit: this sld be 2.5 tsp) and the nearly 1 hour of total proofing time for the red bean bao. While the red bean had a wrinkly skin, the bao was fluffier than my corn bao, but still not as fluffy as seen in the corn bao video.

Aside from being very dense, the dough still tastes a bit raw and the taste of the oil is very strong. This recipe didn't work probably mostly because of the short or negligible proofing time and insufficient kneading. 

I learnt from China Sichuan's char siu bao recipe that has more sugar, liquid, and yeast that uses a single proofing method (like Kitchen101 here) because it saves time and leads to more fluffy and less chewy buns. This differs from her red bean buns which proofs for 1 hour. 

Single proofing method

- Her mantou recipe says to obtain a smooth surface, buns have to be well kneaded, not over-proofed, and controlled fire which differs between steel and bamboo. 

- The second 'proofing' (after shaping) for 10 to 20 minutes until it slightly puffs up is actually just resting the gluten rather than proofing. The steaming water should start from cold and then rapidly brought to a boil on high heat. Start the count and turn down to medium flame only when you the steam escaping. The cooking time after from this point can take 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the buns and filling. 

- Bamboo steamer has to be on medium fire but steel has to be high fire all the time and cooking time for bamboo steamer has to be longer ie between 25 to 30 mins (including bringing to a boil). 

- The single proofing method requires a longer cooking time so that it can puff up. I made the mistake of turning down both steel and bamboo down to medium fire and assuming it's 15 mins for everybody. No wonder my buns from the steel steamer came out better cooked than the bamboo which was undercooked. I might also need to switch the steamer baskets around halfway. Kitchen101 used a bamboo steamer but her timings and single proofing method don't work for me! 

Bao buns: comparison recipes and tips

I have always made bao with filling but have never really bothered too much with the bread portion of the bao. There are many types of bao bun out there - mantou or the Chinese kong bak baos. The bao process itself is a lot more involved than I expected, such as over-proofing (which makes them dense), wrinkly or pock-marked skins, yellow-ness, and collapsing. These two sources discuss the problems and solutions in detail:

1. Red House Spice: https://redhousespice.com/steamed-bao-buns/

- Type of flour influences more fluffy and less chewy. Bao flour and cake flour have similar protein levels except bao flour is bleached.

- Extended kneading leads to a white colour and good kneading skills mean a smoother skin (ideally, 5 mins in mixer and rest by hand)

- proofing: double in size - timing depends on ambient temp so it can be anything from 40 to 90 mins. The second proofing should only take about 15 minutes.

- removing air, this affects the smooth skin: Beat down to remove the air and shape the dough. 

- Dough collapsing (has never happened to me). Apparently, turning the fire off and waiting, adding sugar or vinegar to the boiling water don't help. What does help is not rolling the dough too thin and having a drier filling (so the moisture doesn't seep into the dough). She even recommends starting from cold water, which I have never ever heard of before! All the blogs I've read all talk about steaming from water on a rolling boil as that gives the instant lift.

2. What to cook today (mantou): https://whattocooktoday.com/soft-fluffy-asian-steamed-buns-every-time.html Additional notes not covered in the previous link are:

- Sugar helps yeast but too much sugar can inhibit yeast growth

- If using KitchenAid, mix for 5 minutes after the dough comes together. Add salt and mix again until smooth. Rest for only 15 mins before shaping the dough. This is resting to make it easier to work with, not proofing as it shouldn't rise.

- Use room temp or cold milk so that the buns don't start proofing while being shaped. If they do, store the proofed buns in the fridge until everyone is ready.

- After the usual tucking of seams underneath and cup shaping with palms (to make the buns tall instead of spreading out after steaming), an additional step for mantou is to roll the dough balls on the table until you get a smooth ball. Dab the surface of each bao with milk to make I make it smooth. The surface is probably less important for me if I'm making bao

- Proofing after the shaping, allow to proof to about 50% of original size, approx 10 to 15 mins. Dough sld feel light and airy and not dense. Finger test: push gently and it should stay indented for a while but must spring back. If it springs back immediately, it's not proofed enough; if it doesn't, it's over proofed. Beat in and reshape and re-proof again. Steaming over-proofed dough will make them collapse and come out dense.

- Wrap the cover of the steam with a cloth

- For smooth surface of the buns, steam at low-medium heat and allow the steam to escape

- After steaming, turn off the flame and let the buns rest for 5 minutes (so buns don't wrinkle or collapse)

- Over-proofing can also cause the buns to collapse. So will too much filling inside.

- After shaping, skins hv to be smooth otherwise they will come out wrinkly.

Update: Tried out the bao skin tips here in the red bean bao.