Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou Recipe)

Do you love fluffy steamed buns? I am a big fan of it.

You may encounter different types of steamed buns in Asian markets or restaurants. Some of them have lovely fillings while others don’t. We will learn how to make Chinese steamed buns or Mantou with a super easy, simple, foolproof one-time proofing method.

With this basic dough, you can turn into into other pillow-soft steamed buns from your own creativity.

What’s Mantou

In other parts of China, Mantou is mostly served as breakfast in restaurants and food carts. The basic ingredients for Mantou are flour, yeast, and water. But we may also use milk, oil, or sugar either to enhance the flavor or improve the texture.

Well-made mantou has a lovely natural and sweet taste from the wheat itself even if no sugar is added. It also has a super lovely smooth surface and pillow-soft texture.

Two types of methods of making mantou

Before we start to make steamed buns at home, I love to introduce some basic theories about Asian buns or Chinese buns. There are two different ways of making mantou or steamed buns: the first one is single proofing or one-time proofing and the other one is double proofing. Following are some key differences between the two methods.

Single Proofing Steamed Buns

In this method, the dough undergoes only one fermentation process. Typically, the dough is left to rise naturally after mixing. Single-proofing steamed buns are known for their relatively simple and quick preparation process. As there’s only one fermentation, these buns might have a denser texture compared to double-proofing buns, offering a slightly different mouthfeel. It is much easier for a beginner to start with and you can get a shinning surface easily with this method.

Double Proofing Steamed Buns

The double-proofing method involves two fermentation processes. We will need to allow the dough to rise to double size first and then knead again to remove the air bubbles inside.

After shaped, the dough will be left aside for a second rise. Double-proofing buns are softer especially after cooled down. But it involves lots of kneading and it is quite challenging for beginners.

To get a smooth mantou, the dough should be well kneaded in both stages. After the second kneading, there should be no large bubbles in the cross-section of your dough. Please keep dusting your operation board during the second kneading stage, it not only helps to avoid sticky dough but also fills up any small holes brought by the first proofing. So we can have smooth steamed buns. 

Why I recommend single-proofing

I recommend the single-proofing method because, with this method, you can make a similar texture (still super fluffy and good in taste), with much less kneading.

However, one disadvantage of the single-proofing method is that the dough becomes denser and harder after cooling down. But you can make it fluffy and soft again by steaming.

It is much easier to get the shining smooth surface with the single proofing method since the yeast is not activated.

The easiest way of making buns is to use a knife to cut the dough into a car similar shape. It is the fastest and easiest method, requiring just the least kneading effort.

Look at the texture, it can create cloud-like texture buns too.

Cook’s Note

All-purpose flour

Both all-purpose flour and cake flour can be used to make excellent fluffy buns. Low-gluten flour has a lower protein content (usually between 8% to 10%), making the dough softer and less elastic. while those made with all-purpose flour maintain softness with better elasticity. You can choose the flour based on personal preference.

Yeast

There are two types of yeast usually used to make steamed buns: instant yeast and dry yeast. And you should avoid adding instant yeast near sugar.

Sugar

Sugar is optional. You can barely taste sweetness in the well-steamed buns but sugar helps to form better gluten.

Oil

Traditionally, we will use lard in the dough to help keep moisture. But vegetable cooking oil works fine too.

Water or milk

You can use either water or milk to make fluffy steamed buns. For 300g all-purpose flour, use either 150ml water or 180ml milk.

Step-by-step instructions

Basic dough for Chinese steamed buns

Add sugar and yeast to the water. Stir well and set aside for 5 minutes. If you do not want sugar, just skip it. Since we are using the single proofing method in this recipe, the key is not to activate the yeast before we finish the shaping process. So if your room temperature is higher than 18 degrees C. Use chilled water.

Add the liquid to the flour in a stand mixer bowl. And we start to make the dough. (If you plan to hand-knead, pour the water with yeast slowly into the bowl with flour and stir with a chopstick).

Knead for 1 minute at slow speed and then add oil. Then continue kneading for at least 10 minutes at slow speed until the dough is super smooth, elastic, and whiter in color.

I recommend using a stand mixer for single-proofing dough, as the warmth from hands can raise the temperature of the dough, leading to premature fermentation and further case the failure of the smooth surface.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, wearing a plastic wrapper can stop the temperature from passing through the dough.

Knife-cut steamed buns

Slightly dust the operating board to avoid being sticky, then shape the dough into a smooth ball. Knead for around 1 minute or around.

Further, shape it into a long log. Try to make it as even as possible. Remove the two ends and use a very sharp knife to cut the log into smaller pieces (around 2 cm wide). Try to keep the original shape.

Round mantou

Divide the dough into 7-8 portions. And knead each piece for several minutes until the surface becomes super smooth. Then shape it into a round shape (check the video for the detailed process and tips).

Proofing

Please the buns into a lined steamer.  If it is warm, cover the lid and start the proofing process.

If it is very cold, remove the lid, place it in an oven, and place it in a large cup of hot boiling water. Cover the lid of the oven and let it rise inside.

It may take around 30 minutes to 1 hour for the proofing method. Check frequently until the buns are 1.5 times in size.

Tips about checking the proofing status

We place a small piece of dough in a cup with water. As the fermentation progresses, yeast in the dough produces bubbles, causing the dough to expand and become lighter.

When the proofing is ready, the small test dough will float on the surface.

Steam the buns

Use high fire first and then lower the fire after you see the vapor coming out from the lid. I highly recommend using a Bamboo Steamer to steam Chinese steamed buns or Chinese Baozi. They can bring a bamboo aroma to the food. You can try to find some in local stores or purchase from Amazon: Joyce Chen 2-Tier Bamboo Steamer Baskets, 10-Inch.

Remember to let it stand for another 5 minutes before opening the lid. Here we are, super easy, simple, and fluffy steamed buns.

It is much easier to achieve a super smooth surface with the knife-cutting method. You will need lots of kneading to make the round buns perfectly smooth. So I recommend starting this knife-cutting method.

Other Chinese steamed recipes

With this dough, you can make lots of stuffed buns like the following.

1. Xiao Long Bao Recipe—Chinese Steamed Soup Dumplings   The dough for Xiao Long Bao does not need yeast and fermentation.
2. BBQ Pork Buns
3. Chinese Sugar Buns with sesame and brown sugar as filling.
4. Vegan Baozi with spicy tofu as filling.
5. Chinese sweet potato buns — add some excellent purple color for your buns.
6. Healthywheat buns–mix flour with wheat flour.

What’s the difference between mantou and Baozi

Mantou and Baozi can share the same dough and proofing process. Mantou is unfilled and there is no wrapping process. While baozi is filled with savory meat filling or sweet paste filling.

A guideline about double proofing method

If you prefer to try a double-proof method, knead the dough just as the previous one and then Firstly place the dough in a warm place until 1.5 or 2 times in size (don’t over ferment the dough, otherwise you will need a long time to get the air out). Poke a hole with a finger and the dough does not collapse. You can find a lovely honeycomb texture inside the dough. For the details, check this our double proofing mantou video. However, you will need to use lukewarm water for double-proofing dough if the temperature is low on winter days.

Forcefully re-knead the dough, lightly dust the operating board, and punch the air out. The surface of the dough needs to be smooth again.

Divide the dough into two halves take one portion and re-knead again.  To make smooth Mantou, It is quite important to pinch all the air bubbles out of the dough and keep dusting your operation board. My checking way is to cut cross sections and see whether there are large bubbles inside.

On a lightly floured kitchen board, roll the dough into a long log around 1 inch in diameter or any size you want. Then remove the two ends and use a very sharp knife to cut the log into smaller pieces (around 2 cm wide). Try to keep the original shape.

Please the buns into a lined steamer.  Add cold water to your wok or steel steamer. Place the buns and then cover the lid and rest for 10 minutes in summer and around 20 minutes in winter or until the bun becomes fluffy again.  

The steaming process is the same as one proofing method.

FAQ about Mantou making

I get lots of feedback about this recipe. It turns out perfect for some of the readers, but there are also failed reports and requests to figure out what’s wrong. So I collect some of the top topics and share my own experience.

What about the dough that smells sour?

The sour taste indicates that the dough is over-fermented. This usually happens on hot summer days or when too much instant yeast is used. The best proofing temperature for steamed buns is around 28 degrees C.

How to make the buns smooth in surface (avoid bumpy surface)

I will recommend you try the first-time proofing method which is much easier to make a smooth mantou.

For a double-proofing method, the dough should be well-kneaded at the very beginning. Then make sure the dough is appropriately fermented just double in size even in winter, do not over-ferment the dough. Pinch the air out after the first fermentation forcefully to remove the air inside. There should be no bubbles in the cross-sections.
Lastly, control the fire during the steaming process. For steel steamer, you can use high fire all the time because there is not enough vapor via the holes. For the bamboo steamer, lower the fire to medium after boiling.  Adjust the steaming time if necessary, if your buns are bigger, steam for 25 minutes. After steaming, remove your steamer from the fire and wait for around 5 minutes before lifting the cover, otherwise, the buns might collapse.

How to keep the buns

If you made a large batch and can not eat up all the time, steam the buns first and then fridge or freeze after cooling. They can be refrigerated for 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month. Re-steam before serving.