Fluffy steamed buns are a highlight of Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine that have become super popular in the UK in recent years. Filled with everything from crispy fried chicken to meltingly tender pork belly or sticky, juicy mushrooms, they’re endlessly versatile. You can even fill them with decidedly non-traditional ingredients, like cold roast beef and horseradish sauce, or use them in place of pancakes for holding crispy duck and plum sauce.
Simple to make, the buns do need time to prove (rise) so factor this into your cooking – they’ll need to sit for about an hour before cooking, and are best enjoyed fresh from the steamer. If you want to get ahead, you can make and steam them a few hours in advance, then reheat to serve.
Home-made bao buns are softer and fluffier than shop-bought ones (though we do love the convenience of the ready-made variety) and also a slightly creamier colour – compared to the almost bleached white of shop ones, this is perfectly normal! Make sure you remove the steamer lid as soon as the cooking time is up, as if left on it will cause condensation to drop and create spotting on your perfect buns. Cover them with a clean tea towel (well away from any hob burners) if needed, to keep them warm.
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Yields:
8
Prep Time:
35 mins
Cook Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Ingredients
75ml
milk
1/2Tbsp.
vegetable oil, plus extra to grease
250g
plain flour
20g
caster sugar
1/2tsp.
(2g) fast action dried yeast
Directions
Step 1Heat milk in a small pan until warm. Remove from heat and mix in the oil and 75ml cold water.
Step 2Mix flour, sugar, yeast and 1/2tsp fine salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk mixture and mix by hand until the dough comes together, then knead briefly in the bowl for 1-2min. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1hr, or until doubled in size.
Step 3Tip dough on to a clean surface and knead for 10min, until smooth and bouncy. If the dough is sticking, grease the surface lightly. Divide and shape into 8 neat balls, then roll each ball into a 3mm thick oval. Brush ovals lightly on both sides with oil and fold in 1/2 widthways, pressing the sides together gently. Put on individual squares of baking parchment. Cover loosely with greased clingfilm (oil-side down) and leave to rise for 45min-1hr, or until slightly puffed.
Step 4Place buns in a steamer basket, spacing apart (you will need to do this in batches if you only have 1 basket). Cover with the steamer lid and sit basket over a large pan half-filled with boiling water. Steam over medium hob heat for 15min, until light and puffy. Remove the lid immediately to avoid condensation dripping on to the buns. Pack with your chosen fillings and serve immediately.
Get ahead: Steam the buns up to 3hr ahead. Once cool, cover loosely with a tea towel. To serve, reheat following the method in step 5 for 4-5min, or until puffed and warm. Complete recipe.
Filling suggestions: Sticky pork belly is traditional, and once you’ve tasted the combo of meltingly tender pork and lip-sticking, tangy sauce you’ll see why. Or go veggie with pulled hoisin mushrooms, inspired by the flavours of Chinese duck pancakes (with plenty of cucumber and spring onions) – guaranteed to prove popular with vegans and meat-eaters alike!
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
Emma is Cookery Editor for Good Housekeeping and loves nothing more than sharing her bottomless enthusiasm for all things food and drink with anyone who wants to learn (and even those who don’t!). From super simple one pan suppers to showstopping wedding cakes and everything in between, there’s very little that doesn’t come out of her kitchen. When not developing recipes, writing features or styling food for photography she can be found hiding behind the mountain of cookery books that’s slowly overtaking her house, or exploring restaurants, food shops and festivals in search of the next big thing to share with readers. On the rare days when she’s not thinking about food, you’ll find her in a cosy pub at the end of a long walk with her dog and expert food taster, Angua.
