Soft Fluffy Whole Wheat / Wholemeal Steamed Buns (Mantou / Bao)
Servings: 8 medium buns
Calories: 181kcal
Make the best soft fluffy whole wheat Chinese steamed buns (wholemeal) with this easy foolproof recipe using tangzhong. All the tips you need to get smooth steamed buns in 3 different ways: fold-over steamed buns, mantou, and round steamed buns.
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Ingredients
For 100% whole wheat steamed buns:
- 300 g whole wheat flour or wholemeal flour
- 4 g instant yeast
- 30 g sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 20 g cooking oil
- 245 g milk or more as needed
For 50-50 whole wheat steamed buns:
- 150 g cake flour see notes
- 150 g whole wheat flour
- 4 g instant yeast
- 30 g sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 20 g cooking oil
- 200 g milk or more as needed
For tangzhong:
- 25 g cake flour see notes
- 125 g milk
For the dough:
- 125 g cake flour see notes
- 150 g whole wheat flour
- 4 g instant yeast
- 30 g sugar
- 20 g oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- 75 g milk or more as needed
If using tangzhong for 100% whole wheat steamed buns:
For tangzhong:
- 25 g whole wheat flour
- 150 g milk
For the dough:
- 275 g whole wheat flour
- 4 g instant yeast
- 30 g sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 20 g oil
- 95 g milk or more as needed
Instructions
If using tangzhong:
- Combine the first two ingredients under tangzhong, in a non-stick pan or a saucepan. Use a whisk to stir to combine until you don't see any more lumps.
- If you are preparing whole wheat tangzhong for 100% whole wheat bao, let the whole wheat flour soaks in the milk/water for 15 minutes as whole wheat flour needs time to hydrate.
- Put on the stove and turn the heat to low-medium and keep stirring
- The mixture will start to thicken. Remember to keep stirring and don't crank up the heat. If you use an instant-thermometer to measure, it should be about 65 C/149 F (a bit over is not a big deal). The mixture thickens but we don't want to overcook it and the liquid evaporates too much. Which is why using a thermometer helps a lot
Make the dough with a machine:
- Mix flour, yeast, salt, sugar, tangzhong (if using) and oil in a mixing bowl. If you use a machine, use a dough hook attachment. Turn on the mixer, start on speed 2 (on Kitchen Aid) and gradually add the liquid (it's important to start with room temperature or cold 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. Knead for about 5 minutes on speed 2 until you get a rough dough. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. This allows the wheat flour to be hydrated, especially if you are preparing 100% whole wheat bao.
- After 15 minutes, turn the machine back on and continue to knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes. Feel the dough. It should feel soft. If it feels stiff, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Whole wheat flour is a very "thirsty" flour and needs more hydration. Continue to knead until the liquid is absorbed.
- There is no need to reach a windowpane. Just knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Every brand of whole wheat flour is different, so it is important that you feel the dough and add liquid accordingly. This is the key to get soft whole wheat steamed buns, soft dough that is just slightly sticky to the touch.
Make the dough by hands:
- If you are kneading by hands, mix until you get a rough dough (it's not going to be smooth yet). Cover and rest it for 15 minutes. Then go back and knead it. You'll be surprised by how easier it is to knead it now. Knead until the dough is smooth and pliable, about 15-20 minutes. At any point during kneading, you can always stop and rest the dough if you find it hard to knead. This is to relax the gluten. Then go back to knead again and you'll be surprised by the difference it makes by just resting the dough before kneading again. It's easier for you too
Rest the dough:
- Cover and rest the dough for 15 minutes. This is not to proof the dough. It shouldn't double in size. This is to relax the gluten for easier shaping and rolling the dough
If doing fold-over steamed buns:
- Instead of dusting your work surface with flour, spray some cooking spray or use a bit of oil. The more flour you add to the dough, the drier and tougher it gets. Divide the dough into 8-10 equal portions (depending on the size you want). Keeping the dough 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 on a parchment paper. Repeat with the rest and proceed to proofing step
If doing round steamed buns:
- Instead of dusting your work surface with flour, spray some cooking spray or use a bit of oil. The more flour you add to the dough, the drier and tougher it gets. Divide the dough into 8-10 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. Proceed to the proofing step below
If doing mantou shape:
- Instead of dusting your work surface with flour, spray some cooking spray or use a bit of oil. The more flour you add to the dough, the drier and tougher it gets
- Roll the dough out into rectangle, about 9 x 12 inch then roll it up like a Swiss roll. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut into 8-10 pieces. The two end pieces may be a bit smaller compared to others. Place on parchment paper and proceed to the proofing step below
Proofing the steamed buns:
- Keep the shaped steamed buns covered with a towel and let them proof until about 50% bigger than the original size, it may take about 30 minutes to 1 hour, maybe a bit longer if it's winter. Don't go by the time. It should feel lighter and slightly puffy after proofing. The dough should feel lighter when you lift it up. Do a finger-poking test be by gently push the dough with your floured finger. The dough should bounce back slowly and leave some indentation. The buns are done proofing. If it bounces back almost immediately, proof a bit longer and check again.
Steaming:
- Most likely your steamer won't be able to accommodate steaming all buns at one go. You may need to steam in 2-3 batches, which means, the rest of the batches will sit longer and continue to proof while waiting for the steamer. If you think the buns are proofing way too fast (getting bigger too fast), here's what you can do: Make sure to cover them with plastic wrap and then place them in the refrigerator to slow down the yeast activity or halt it all together until they are ready to be steamed
- Bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid of your steamer with a kitchen towel to prevent moisture dripping back on the steamed buns as this will create "burn" spots
- LOWER THE HEAT TO MEDIUM. Place the buns in there, leaving about 1-inch space in between. Close the lid and leave about 1/4-inch gap to let some steam escape and steam like this for 8 minutes. Steaming them this way will give you a very smooth surface without any wrinkle
- After steaming, turn off the heat. DO NOT OPEN THE LID of the steamer. Let the buns sit there for 1 minute like this. The buns will not sink or wrinkle due to the sudden change in temperature
COOLING:
- Remove the buns to a wire rack to let them cool down. This is to ensure the bottom of the steamed buns will not be wet and soggy
STORING:
- If you make extra and plan to store them, let the already steamed buns cooled down completely and then place them on a baking sheet, not touching each other, and then put the entire tray inside the freezer for about 1 hour. They will harden, but not completely frozen yet. Transfer to a freezer bag and they will not stick to each other anymore. Try not to keep for more than 1 month
REHEATING:
- They can go straight from freezer to steamer when you ready to eat them. Steam on high heat for 5 minutes and they are as good as new
Video
Notes
If you don't have cake flour, you can use 120 gr all-purpose flour and 30 gr cornstarch or potato starch. You can also use pastry flour. Alternatively, you can use all-purpose flour. The texture won't be as soft compared to using cake flour
Nutrition
Serving: 1bao (50/50 wholemeal) | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 44IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg
