Fluffy Baked Milk Buns with Ginger Hoisin Chicken

Fluffy Baked Milk Buns Filled with Ginger Hoisin Chicken

Fluffy Baked Milk Buns with Ginger Hoisin Chicken

Course: Appetizer, Baked Buns, Snack

Cuisine: Asian American

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 30

Proof the dough twice:: 2 30

Total Time: 3 40

Servings: buns

Calories: 226kcal

Author: Marvellina

Soft, fluffy baked milk buns filled with savory ginger hoisin chicken. These pillowy buns stay tender thanks to potato-enriched dough and are perfect for meal prep or gatherings.

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US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

For the dough:

360 g all-purpose flour I use King Arthur's unbleached all purpose flour
8 g fine sea salt
40 g sugar
80 g oil
28 g milk powder
2 ½ tsp instant yeast
39 g instant potato flakes unseasoned. see notes 1
220 g whole milk plus more as needed

Filling:

1 small onion diced
1 Tbsp oil
336 g boneless skinless chicken thighs diced, or use about 3 cups of leftover cooked chicken
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce or more to taste
3 Tbsp brown sugar or more to taste
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp of water

Egg wash:

1 egg beaten with a fork

Topping: (optional)

White sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare the filling: (can be done few days ahead and kept in the fridge)

Preheat a large skillet with 1 Tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is lightly caramelized and soft, about 3 minutes. If you are using uncooked chicken, add it here and cook until it turns opaque.
Add the chicken broth, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. If you are using leftover diced cooked chicken (such as rotisserie chicken), add it here. Let it cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil and mix to combine
Combine the cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Add this to the pan and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Have a taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. It should be savory and sweet.
Let it cool down completely before using. Once it has cooled down completely, cover and keep it in the fridge if you won't be using it on the same day

Prepare the dough:

If you are using active dry yeast, bloom it with about 1 -2 Tbsp of the milk called for in the recipe and let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy before using
Place all ingredients for the dough in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. I use the hook to stir everything to roughly combine the dry ingredients with the wet.
Start with the lowest speed to combine everything, about 3 minutes. Then increase the speed to medium and let the dough knead until it is soft and smooth. It is a sticky dough, so it will clear the sides of the bowl, but still somewhat sticky. The dough still sticks to the bottom of the bowl. It takes about 5-7 minutes of kneading for me to get to this point
If your dough feels dry, you can add a bit more milk, 1 Tbsp at a time. You want the dough to be soft and slightly tacky to the touch.

First proofing:

You can transfer the dough to another oiled large bowl for first proofing or you can proof right in the same bowl, but I usually scoop it out and oil the bowl, oil my hands and round up the dough and put it back into the bowl. Cover and let it proof at a warm place for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours until it doubles in volume (the time depends on the temperature)

Shaping and filling:

Divide the filling into 16 portions. You can use two 8 x 8 inch or 9 x 9 inch round or square baking pan or 9 x 13 inches baking pan. I like to line it with parchment paper sling, overhanging on the side for easier removal later
Deflate the dough and divide it into 16 equal pieces. I usually weigh the dough and then divide it by 16, so I know how many grams of dough are needed for each bun. You can eyeball it, but I like to have the same size for each bun
Round each dough into a dough ball and cover them with a cling wrap and let it rest for about 5 minutes to relax the gluten. Work with one dough at a time. Flatten one piece of dough with your palm or a rolling pin to about 4 inches in diameter. Put the filling in the center.
Gather the dough from the edges, making sure not to touch the filling as it makes it difficult to seal, and pinch to seal the seams.
Round it up into a dough ball and place the seam side down in the pan
Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. I would arrange about 8 buns per pan, if you use two pans. If you use one large baking pan, you can arrange into 4 x 4

Second proofing:

Cover the pan with lightly oiled cling wrap and let it proof until the buns filled up the pan and really puffy, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature
15 minutes before the end of the proofing time, start preheating the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven, please lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven

Baking:

Brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with some white sesame seeds on top if you choose to use. Place two pans side by side in the oven if you are using two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown

To serve:

Set the pan on a cooling rack. Let the buns cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes and then grab the parchment paper to lift the buns out and let it cool down for another 5 minutes before serving. They can be served warm or room temperature

Notes

If instant potato flakes is not available where you are, you can substitute with 100 grams of cooked potato. You can microwave, steam or boil the peeled potato until tender and mash it finely

Nutrition