Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

I love making bread but I’ve never tried steaming it before. I was excited to make these rolls last night for dinner to go with Chicken Teriyaki & Fried Rice. I was using my bamboo steamer to steam my veggies but thankful I also have a large metal steamer so I ended up using that to make these. Either kind of steamer will work fine for this recipe.

I have noticed that there seems to be 2 different kinds of recipes out there for Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou). This kind, which is basic & made with only 5 ingredients. The other kind calls for adding baking powder & salt. I haven’t tried making them the second way yet but these turned out pretty good without baking powder, if you like salt though you could add it to the recipe, I’d say around 1/2 teaspoon. I’m not sure which method is more traditional.

This recipes makes a small batch, about 8 buns. If you need more double the recipe.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

 

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Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons warm water (maybe more)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2½ tablespoons sugar

Instructions

1. Add warm water & yeast to your mixing bowl or breadmachine. Then add vegetable oil, sugar, & flour.
2. Mix ingredients together. See if dough is too dry or wet. My dough was a little dry so I ended up adding a couple more tablespoons of water.
3. Knead dough for several minutes using your favorite method until dough is elastic & soft.
4. Roll into ball, cover, & let rise for about an hour.
5. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about ¼" thick, then roll into a log.
6. Cut into 1" slices. Place buns onto cut pieces of parchment paper (about 4x4") or cupcake liners & place into bamboo or metal steamer, cover let rise for 20-40 minutes.
7. Fill wok or steaming pot with water, bring to boil & steam for 20-25 minutes or until center is cooked & they look set. (I took one out & cut it open to make sure it was done)
8. Tilt lid around for a minute or two before opening so your buns don't sink.
9. If your not quite ready to eat the buns, make sure there is still water in the pot & turn heat to lowest setting & let them stay warm until you are ready to eat. Don't forget to peel the parchment paper off the bottoms.

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