This is an easy recipe for soft, fluffy Mantou (馒头), a traditional Chinese steamed bun that is often eaten plain, unstuffed, as part of breakfast. At our house, we eat mantou as an accompaniment to more authentic Chinese dishes. With only 6 ingredients and step-by-step photo instructions, your family can enjoy them too, for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
A Fabulously Fluffy Steamed Bun Recipe – Nothing More and Nothing Less!
Warm steamed buns – fluffy, soft and slightly chewy – are hard to pass up. They reheat really well over the steamer again or even wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel and microwaved for a few short seconds. And although they’re traditionally eaten for breakfast, they make a great side dish for an Asian-inspired meal. Mantou aren’t hard to make – but there are a few handy tips that will ensure you get a smooth bun (vs. a wrinkly one).
What Goes Into Mantou?
Mantou, in its simplest form contains yeast, flour, salt, and water. Many recipes, however, also include a small amount of sugar and oil. Chinese steamed buns are known for their signature snowy white dough. This is due to a heavily bleached flour, which also happens to have a low gluten level. Flour will have the biggest impact on the texture of your steamed buns. If you use something with a low gluten level, like a Chinese or Vietnamese bao/bot bao flour or cake flour, they will turn out fluffier. A bread flour will yield a chewier bun. Let’s split the difference on this one and use AP. Now, different brands of flour can impact the water to flour ration, but this recipe has worked for me since my days living in China (although in those days, it was much more common to grab one off of the nearest vendor).
Besides flour, you’ll need:
- Water
- Oil
- Sugar
- Instant yeast
Tools You’ll Need:
- Steamer: either metal or bamboo; (I have both, but usually use my metal steamer)
- Steamer paper: Steamer paper is nice because it comes in a circle and has lots of holes to let your buns ‘breathe,’ but you can also use regular old parchment paper.
- Rolling pin
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen towels
- (Optional) Stand mixer
How Do You Make Mantou From Scratch?
- Combine the flour, the instant yeast, the sugar and the salt. Then add in the oil and the water.
- Mix until it starts to come together in a loose ball.
- Generously flour your kneading surface and turn the dough onto it. Knead with your hands, lightly flouring your surface as needed, until the dough is elastic and smooth.
- Form it into a ball. Lightly brush some oil onto the bottom of a mixing bowl and place your dough in the bowl, drizzle/coat in more oil, covering for 1-2 hours until it doubles in size.
- Line a steamer basket with non-stick steamer papers. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, roll up the long way, and cut into 8 equal size pieces, placing them into steamer baskets.
- Fill a steamer pot a third of the way with water. Add steamer baskets. Note: If using a metal steamer, to avoid condensation dripping down onto your buns, place a towel between the lid and the steamer basket. Be sure to wrap towel edges over the top of the lid so nothing catches fire! Once you turn on your burner, do not leave unattended. (I use a cloth dough proofing cover that fits onto the lid.) Add the towel when you add the steamer baskets with dough. Let proof again for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Once the water comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low. Steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the burner and let the steamed buns sit there for 3 minutes. Then, remove the covered steamer baskets of buns from the pot. (I set it on a kitchen towel.) Move the lid a tiny crack to let the steam release slowly for 3-5 minutes before uncovering and moving to a serving plate. Serve warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Different flours absorb water differently. The flour-water ratio may vary slightly depending on the brand you use. Adjust accordingly. The dough should be medium-firm and smooth. See pictures as a reference for how it should look when you start kneading vs. after 8-10 minutes in a mixer.
- Measure by weight, not volume.
- Metal steamers come with metal or glass lids that drip condensation onto the buns. To avoid, I recommend getting a cloth dough proofing cover that fits onto the lid. Alternatively, you can wrap the lid in a kitchen towel.
- Steamed buns reheat really well! Steam them for 5 minutes and they’ll taste like they were just made. (Even if they sit out on the counter overnight and feel a bit stale. Ask me how I know.) Alternatively, you can dampen a sheet of paper towel and wring it dry before wrapping an individual bun and microwaving for 20-30 seconds.
- Let your buns sit for 3-5 minutes after turning off stove top and again once you move them off of the steamer. Extreme temperature changes can cause the buns to collapse and look wrinkly.
STORAGE & REHEATING
Storage: Store in an airtight container or freezer bag in a single layer in the fridge for up to 3 to 5 days.
Freezing: Mantou freeze really well. Pop them in a single layer in a freezer bag or wrap them in plastic wrap before popping into a freezer bag. Unwrap before steaming.
Reheating: Mantou reheat beautifully. You can steam leftover buns over boiling water for 5 minutes, or you can dampen a sheet of paper towel, ring it dry, and wrap an individual bun, microwaving it for 20-30 seconds. If reheating from frozen, steam over boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
Serving Ideas
Mantou goes with practically any Asian dish you can think of:
- Congees and porridges
- Soups
- Chicken Adobo, Kung Pao Chicken, La Zi Ji Ding
- Eggs (Tomato and Eggs is a classic Chinese dish)
- Etc., etc.
📖 Recipe
Easy Mantou Recipe (Traditional Chinese Steamed Buns)
Ingredients
- 453 grams AP flour or special “hard flour” for baozi, 3 ⅔ cups
- 50 grams sugar ¼ cup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 220 g water 1 cup+ 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Small amount of oil or water to brush onto dough before rolling up
Instructions
- Combine the flour, the instant yeast, the sugar and the salt. Then add in the oil and the water.
- Mix until it starts to come together in a loose ball.
- Using a mixer with a dough hook attachment, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until smooth. If you don’t have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, generously flour your kneading surface and turn the dough onto it. Knead with your hands, lightly flouring your surface as needed, until the dough is elastic and smooth.
- Form it into a ball. Cover for 1-2 hours until it doubles in size.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle, optionally, you can brush with a little more oil. Then, roll the dough up the long way, and cut it into 8 equal size pieces, placing each piece into a steamer basket, being careful not to overcrowd. (A nine inch steamer basket will hold 4 buns.)
- Fill a steamer pot a third of the way with water. Add steamer baskets. Note: If using a metal steamer, to avoid condensation dripping down onto your buns, place a towel between the lid and the steamer basket. Be sure to wrap towel edges over the top of the lid so nothing catches fire! Once you turn on your burner, do not leave unattended. (I use a cloth dough proofing cover that fits onto the lid.) Add the towel when you add the steamer baskets with dough. Let proof again for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Turn on burner and steam your buns – 15 minutes for a single rack, and 18 for a double rack. Turn off the burner and let the steamed buns sit there for 3 minutes. Then, remove the covered steamer baskets of buns from the pot. (I set it on a kitchen towel.) Move the lid a tiny crack to let the steam release slowly for 3-5 minutes before uncovering and moving to a serving plate. Serve warm.
