We're sharing my friend's family recipe for a very basic type of bao dian 飽點 (a catch-all term for various buns and breads). She's been making mantou 饅頭 since she started learning how to cook from her mum, and now she's teaching her own kids to make them.
She's still tinkering with the recipe cos she loves to test new techniques, but declares that she's "not unhappy" with this version. Well, we think it's pretty good haha.
They're also fast to make as you only have to knead, shape and proof – no need to wait for multiple rises. The shaping is a bit lengthy – but you can skip what she calls her "trifold" step to create a dimple-free skin.
Enjoyed in China for centuries, mantou are often served with a hearty stew so you can sop up all the sauces, but they're lovely by themselves too.
You can also make filled mantou with this recipe, both sweet and savoury. Or you can even bake them – the overall texture will be very different, but a crackly crust is quite nice too, especially dipped in soup.
The amount here is for a dozen "two-bite" mantou, which should be enough to serve four people, but they're very light, so my friend has been known to polish off a whole batch by herself 😝.
For your first try, you can just make a half-batch. If you're doing the full recipe, try a mix – fill some, steam one small batch, bake the rest.
^ Baked mantou using 100% all-purpose flour: Even without wheat starch, they came out soft and moist, with a crackly gilded skin
Ingredients
270g all-purpose flour
90g deng fen 澄麵粉(wheat starch; see Notes)
36g caster sugar (can be halved)
4-5g instant yeast (can be halved to slow down fermentation)
12g rendered leaf lard or 9g sesame oil
192g full-fat milk (add it cold from the fridge to slow down fermentation)
Half-batch:
135g all-purpose flour
45g deng fen 澄麵粉(wheat starch)
18g caster sugar
2-3g instant yeast
6g rendered leaf lard or 4-5g sesame oil
96g cold full-fat milk
Prep and shaping
Lightly mix all the ingredients together.
Cover and leave to rest for 15 min.
While waiting, you can line your steamer basket or dish, or prep individual liners for each mantou (see Equipment and Lining options).
You also need to line a box (with a cover) for the shaping stage later, to store the divided dough portions while you prep each mantou.
Take the dough out and knead it for 10-15 min if you're working by hand, till it turns smooth and silky. (If you get tired, just take a break for 5 min ☺️.)
Divide the dough into 12 pieces (about 50g each).
Form into loose balls, then place them in the lined box. Cover and keep in the fridge if your kitchen is warm.
Lightly dust your countertop and take out the first ball.
>>> "Trifold" step <<<
Skip this if you're pressed for time, but it does help create a silkier top.
Roll the ball out into a thin strand (about 30cm long).
Fold the strand into thirds like this: /__\
Press together and roll out into a long strand again. Repeat at least two more times.
Flatten the dough and shape it into a disc using the heel of your hand or a rolling pin.
If you're adding a filling, place the disc on one hand and spoon a small amount on top. Wrap the disc around the filling – slowly rotate the disc in one hand while gently stretching the edges up with the other hand and sealing with little pleats.
If you're doing a plain mantou, fold the edges inwards to form a tight ball, pinch to seal the seams, then tighten the surface further by dragging the base in circles over an unfloured section of the countertop.
Cup the ball between your palms, and "rub" it gently to make it taller, till you get a cone or egg shape. (This keeps the ball from flattening out later.)
For both plain and unfilled mantou, dip your finger in some milk and glide it over the top of the dough, to keep the skin from drying out. (You can also mist the mantou with a spray bottle, but be careful not to get it too wet.)
Place it back in the box, and cover after removing another one to shape.
Proofing
For those new to steaming bao, check out the notes on Equipment and Lining options.
We use a bamboo steamer basket (internal diameter: 28cm) with a bamboo lid and a metal base pot. This steamer can fit six of the mantou in this recipe. If yours is smaller, you'll have to do more batches.
(If you're baking the mantou, transfer them to lined or greased baking trays and cover. To fit 12 pieces, you need at least a half-sheet pan, or two quarter-sheets.)
When you've finished shaping all 12 mantou, transfer the first batch to your steamer basket or dish for proofing. Put the rest back in the fridge.
Or you can shape one batch first, then shape the next one while you're waiting for it to steam and set.
Place the mantou in a ring around the sides of the steamer. Avoid putting any in the centre, which could block the steam from circulating properly.
The mantou will expand a fair bit (not so much during the proof, but during the steaming later), so leave at least 3cm between each. Also place them at least 3cm from the sides.
Again, lightly dampen the top of the mantou with some milk.
Cover and leave to proof till they've gained 50% in volume. (It takes 15-20 min in a really warm room, but if your kitchen is cold, you might need 30 min or more.)
Steaming
While waiting for the mantou to proof, get the water ready. Pour 2 litres of water into your pot if it's large enough – that should give you 20-30 min of steaming. Make sure the top of the water is at least 4-5cm below the top of the pot.
Put the lid on and bring the water to a boil on high heat, then turn the heat down and wait till you get a steady "medium" boil. (The water should be bubbling rapidly, but not "violently" enough to spit rudely at you.)
Once you see a generous amount of steam filling the pot, take the lid off, carefully place the steamer basket (already filled with the mantou) on top of the pot, then cover the basket with the lid. (Take care not to get scalded by the steam!)
Don't lift the lid again till the mantou have finished steaming. If you expose them to cold air, they won't plump up and could even collapse.
If you have a small pot, and you're seriously worried the water is running dry, very carefully lift up the entire basket (bao, lid and all) to take a quick peek.
Steam the mantou undisturbed for 15-18 min (try 18 min the first time and adjust down the next round if necessary).
Turn off the heat, but don't take the mantou out yet – they're still too "frail" to take sharp changes in temperature. Keep the lid on and leave them to "set" for 8-10 min (try 10 min the first time).
After taking them out of the steamer, place them on a metal rack to cool, so you don't get Bake Off's dreaded "soggy bottoms" 🤣. (If you used muffin liners, remove the cups carefully after 3-5 min.)
Baking
Bake at 180C for 17-20 min. They'll turn golden and crusty on the outside, but remain tender inside.
Place on a metal rack to cool. Or just crack one open and dig in if they look too good to resist – mind your fingers 😝.
Deep-frying
It's become a tradition to serve fried mantou with Chilli Crab.
First make steamed mantou, then let them cool for a few minutes. If you toss 'em in the fryer straight from the steamer, they could buckle.
Preheat the oil to 180C. Fry the mantou only until they turn golden, turning frequently so they don't burn.
Drain on some paper towels. Crumple the sheets first to allow greater air flow.
Some people treat fried mantou like doughnuts, dusting them with icing sugar or even dipping them in condensed milk – not our cuppa tea, but maybe they're yours 😉.
Storing
Steamed bao are best eaten fresh, but they can be frozen and re-steamed – make sure they've completely cooled down before freezing. Baked bao can be reheated in the oven.
*** Ingredients
Deng fen 澄麵粉 (wheat starch)
If you can't find it at your local Asian grocer or order it online, you can use ci fen 茨粉 (tapioca starch, not tapioca flour) or ma ling shu ding fen 馬鈴薯 淀粉 (potato starch, not potato flour), but the mantou won't be as soft.
If you can't get either, cake flour (which is finely ground from soft winter wheat) will also give you a lighter texture.
We've done it with 100% all-purpose flour as well – this works fine for the baked version, but not so well for steamed mantou. Our friend thinks she can get away with it if she adds a tang zhong 湯種, but she's still experimenting.
Caster (superfine) sugar
If you only have granulated, toss it in a blender and grind for a few minutes.
Full-fat milk (at least 3% fat)
If necessary, you can use lower-fat milk, but the texture won't be as nice.
Our friend has also tried soy milk, but isn't happy with the results. She's still working on it as she wants to do a dairy-free version.
Whichever milk you use, add it while it's still cold from the fridge, to help keep the yeast from activating too fast.
Lard vs oil
Traditionally, most bao were made with lard – the French used it too for puff pastry. Our friend still swears by it – she says it gives a more tender crumb and a better rise – but will use non-animal fat if need be.
You can use any vegetable oil, but she prefers sesame or perilla oil for bao. Their aroma can be a bit strong though, so look for either the untoasted or lightly toasted versions.
If you do want to try pork fat, ask your butcher for leaf lard as it's rendered from the fat around the kidneys, so it's not "gamey".
*** Other Mantou Shapes
Even though our friend prefers round mantou, restaurants usually serve squarish ones. Her shaping method for rectangular mantou is a bit tricky to explain without visuals, so let's take the lazier route. The result is admittedly less silky, but still quite tender.
To get the mantou fairly smooth and tender, you do have to let the dough rise by half its volume and knead a second time before shaping. If you've made jelly rolls before, the rest is simple.
Divide the dough into two portions, then cover one and keep it somewhere cool while you work on the other.
Flatten the dough and use a rolling pin to stretch it out into a 30 x 24 cm rectangle, but not so thin that it tears.
If you want to add a filling, spread a thin layer evenly over the surface – leave a 1cm strip bare along the side furthest from you, so you can seal the seam later.
Roll up the dough from the side nearest to you, seal the seam, and cut the log into six portions (each about 5cm long).
Cover the six mantou and keep them cool while you work on the remaining dough.
That's all you really need to do, but if you want to make a zhen tou 枕頭 (pillow), squeeze the cut ends with your fingers so the centre of the mantou plumps up. Then gently pinch each of the four corners and tug them outwards.
(A popular Teochew variation is made by adding pumpkin to the dough, which creates auspicious Golden Pillows or Jin Zhen Tou 金枕頭.)
To form a hu die 蝴蝶 (butterfly), use your fingers to pinch in the centre of the mantou (along the smooth side), then push in the two cut ends to form four wings. Pinch and stretch the tips into points or tails.
*** Filling and Flavour Variations
Get creative 😊! We've filled savoury ones with mutton keema, grilled aubergine, pesto rosso; sweet versions with medjool dates, crème pâtissière, lü dou rong 綠豆蓉 (mung bean paste).
Bao are versatile enough to pair with almost anything. The only caveat is that the dough in this recipe is a bit delicate, so don't overload the mantou with heaps of filling, or choose ingredients that are too wet or chunky.
For savoury bao, add 1-2g of fine sea salt to the dough and perhaps halve the sugar. For dessert bao, you can increase the sugar or add a sweet glaze.
If you're short of time, don't worry about a filling – you can amp up the flavour just by adding herbs or spices to the dough. Masala blends add a nice kick, as do fresh chives. Or simply switch out the sesame oil for some garlic-infused oil.
*** Equipment for Steaming
^ Some steamer options
If you're new to steaming, you probably don't have the usual implements, but don't rush out and buy it all, unless you plan to steam regularly. There are various options you can consider.
Bamboo steamer basket (zhu zheng long 竹蒸籠), with bamboo lid (zhu gai 竹蓋）
We prefer bamboo, which won't leave your bao all soggy from condensation. The slatted base of the basket also allows the steam to circulate freely. (And we're convinced the food smells better haha.)
We use a basket that's 28cm wide (internal diameter) with a matching lid, but 24cm or 26cm works too if you lack space on the stovetop. Bao expand a fair bit after steaming, so they should be spaced at least 3cm apart – 28cm can fit six "two-bite" mantou, or eight "one-bite" morsels.
The basket sits snugly over a 28cm pot that we fill with 2-3 litres of water, leaving at least 4-5cm clearance at the top of the pot, so the boiling water never gets near the bottom of the basket. If your pot can only hold 1 litre comfortably, you might have to top up the water after 10-15 min.
Sometimes it's hard to get a perfect fit, so just tie a few tea towels tightly around the "seam" between the pot and the basket. Or you can seal it with Kraft tape for the duration.
If you plan to steam large amounts of food at a time, you can get more baskets and stack them, although we still prefer to use just one for bao, to ensure maximum circulation.
We've also used a wok as a base for our steamer basket. And a friend who has a 6qt Instant Pot uses that with her 20cm steamers.
Metal steamer
Usually, this type comes in a set, with a glass lid, a perforated insert and a base pot.
To help prevent the steam from condensing inside or escaping outside, wrap the lid in a large piece of cotton cloth and secure it by the ends to the knob of the lid. If you want to peek inside, leave a small "window".
(Some people get metal steamers as these are more durable, but they replace the lid with a bamboo one that's the same size, which largely gets around the condensation problem.)
Don't pay for extra metal inserts unless you plan to steam other foods too. Most are designed with perforated holes, so the circulation isn't great, though some do come with slats. The higher tiers won't get enough steam, which might be alright for vegetables but not bao.
Pot or wok, plus lid, rack and dish
If you have a pot or a wok wide enough to fit the dish you're using, just put a metal rack at the bottom of the pot or wok, and place the dish on top of the rack.
Unless the rack has fairly long legs, you need to check that the boiling water never gets high enough to touch the dish, and that the water isn’t running dry.
A glass lid is useful here because your bao won't steam properly and could even sink if you keep lifting the lid to check inside. As above, wrap the lid in a large cotton cloth to avoid condensation.
Lining options
To prevent bao from sticking to the steamer basket or dish, you can cover the base with a thin cotton cloth (not dyed or bleached preferably). Avoid using oil or butter – you don't want the bao to absorb the fat and get greasy.
You can also make a perforated liner from parchment paper. See how at:
https://www.recipetineats.com/how-to-make-perforated-paper-liner-for-steamers/. They snip out the holes with scissors, but a paper puncher is faster: https://youtu.be/hvAUWpOWu6s?feature=shared.
Our friend prefers to place each bao on its own piece of parchment paper. You can buy these pre-cut into perforated rounds, or cut out 3cm squares yourself. She also uses muffin liners when she's making bao as gifts.
*** Shots of Some "Flawed" Bao
^ Counterclockwise from top left:
Unwanted dimples – this bao tasted fine, but the skin should have been silky and glossy
Uneven shape – from hasty shaping
Buckled top – from being exposed to cold air
Water damage – from condensation