Soft and Fluffy No Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (Bao Buns/Baozi)

Soft and Fluffy No Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (So Easy Too!)

Soft and Fluffy No Yeast Chinese Steamed Buns (Bao Buns/Baozi)

Course: Dim Sum, Steamed Buns

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 45

Servings: medium size steamed buns

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Marvellina

This is a super easy Chinese steamed buns (mantou) that are so soft, fluffy, airy and incredibly easy without using yeast. They are quick to make and the results are very comparable to regular steamed buns with yeast. You can use your Instant Pot to steam the buns too!

Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

Version 1:

300 g all-purpose flour 2 cups + 2 Tbsp, plus more for dusting, see notes 1
60 g wheat starch 10 Tbsp, or use potato starch or cornstarch

Version 2:

180 g all-purpose flour 1 cup + 5 Tbsp, plus more for dusting, see notes 1
180 g cake flour 1 cup + 5 1/2 Tbsp

For both version 1 and 2:

60 g sugar 5 Tbsp, you can adjust amount
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp cooking oil
180 ml -200 ml milk 12 Tbsp - 14 Tbsp , start with the lower amount and add more as needed. See note 3
1 tsp vanilla extract optional, if you are making it to use with sweet filling
21 g baking powder 1 1/2 Tbsp, double-acting, test your baking powder for freshness-see note 2

Ideas for sweet fillings:

Ideas for savory fillings:

Instructions

Prepare the dough:

If you use a stand mixer: Mix all ingredients, except for the liquid in a mixing bowl. Use a dough hook attachment. Turn on the mixer on the lowest speed and gradually add the liquid, start with the lowest amount of liquid and then add as necessary until a dough is formed. Don’t dump all the liquid all at once. Turn on the speed to 2 and knead until the dough is smooth
If you use hands: Mix all ingredients, except for the liquid in a mixing bowl. Knead with your hands and gradually add in the liquid until you get a dough that is smooth and not sticky. Try to manage not to use too much flour while kneading as it dries out the dough

Rest the dough (to relax gluten):

It's important to rest the dough after all the kneading. This is to relax the gluten. Cover and rest the dough for at least 15 minutes. The dough will be very soft and flexible after that

Prepare steamer:

Bring water in the steamer to a rolling boil. Use the largest burner on your stove. We need maximum heat to ensure the steamed buns come out fluffy

Shape the dough:

For fold-over steamed buns: Lightly dust your work surface with a bit of all-purpose flour. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. If you want smaller buns, you can divide into 10 or 12 instead. Keep them covered and work with one dough at a time. Roll into a round ball. Flatten with your palm and then use a rolling pin to roll it into an oval shape. Fold the dough over and place it on a parchment paper. Repeat with the rest
For round steamed buns: Lightly dust your work surface with all-purpose flour. Not too much. If you use a silicone pastry mat, you may not even need to dust with flour.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Keeping the dough covered and work with one dough at a time
Pull and tuck the dough from top to bottom so the seams are at the bottom and the surface is relatively smooth
Roll the dough into a smooth round ball in between the palm of your hand REALLY make sure the dough is smooth
Cup the dough with both palms and move the dough in a circular motion to shape it taller. This part is important so your steamed buns come out tall instead of spreading to the side after steaming
Place on a piece of parchment paper and keep them covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap while working on the rest

If you want to add filling to the buns:

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Keep them covered and work with one dough at a time. Roll each one into a round ball.
If you use sweet fillings I suggested above, you can portion it out into about 30-40 grams of filling per bun
Flatten the dough with your palm and then use a rolling pin to roll it out to form a circle about 5-6 inches, with a slightly thicker middle part. This is to support the weight of the filling. Don't roll the dough too thin. If you roll the dough too thin, the filling might make the steamed buns "wrinkle" later when you steam
Place the filling you choose to use on the center. Gather the edge to enclose into a round ball and place the seam side down. Cup the dough with both palms and move the dough in a circular motion to shape it taller.
Place on a piece of parchment paper. Lightly dab the surface of the bun with some milk using your finger to smooth the surface. Loosely cover with a plastic wrapper to prevent drying. Work with another dough and do the same

Steaming:

Place the steamed buns in the steamer, giving about 1-inch space in between. (Edited): Steam on high heat for 10 minutes for small to medium size buns and 15 minutes for larger buns. No-yeast buns behave differently compared to yeast buns and need to steam over high heat for maximum fluffiness
If you use filling with raw meat, steam for 15-18 minutes or until the meat is cooked through
When they are done steaming, turn off the heat and let them sit for 2-3 minutes in the steamer before opening the lid

To serve:

Serve warm or at room temperature. It is normal that the buns won't be as soft when they are cold. A simple reheat in the steamer or in a microwave for a few seconds will revive the soft texture again

Video

Notes

For even fluffier and soft texture, you can replace all-purpose flour with cake flour or pastry flour for both options 1 and 2.
Put 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl and pour 1/4 (60 ml) of boiling water and it should bubble up immediately. If it doesn't, the baking powder is no longer good and do not proceed with the recipe until you get fresh baking powder. Please make sure to get double-acting baking powder.
I prefer steamed buns made with milk (dairy, nut milk or coconut milk) instead of just plain water. Steamed buns made with water tend to be drier and get stale much faster because of the lack of fat. If you can use whole milk, it tastes even better as the fat keeps the buns nice and moist

Nutrition