Vegan Pineapple Buns (Chinese Bolo Bao)

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.

This recipe for Vegan Pineapple Buns came from my podcast guest, Helen Au. Make sure you listen to her episode Food in the Real Life Coming-of-Age Story of Helen Au while you make her Vegan Pineapple Buns (Chinese Bolo Bao)! 

These bolo bao buns are amazing, though the title is a little bit misleading because they don't have any pineapple in them, instead, it is just their distinctive pattern on top that gives them their name. They're light, fluffy, and have a sweet flavor (if you make them correctly and don't overprove the dough, as I did the second time I made them). But! That's not all! The buns are then encased in a thin layer of dough for the crumbly crust that has an almost shortbread-like texture. As the buns cook, the sweet dough surrounding the buns is crisp and turns a beautiful golden brown that is absolutely heavenly.

Looking for more sweet bun recipes? Check out this Traditional Semla Recipe: Fat Tuesday Cardamom Buns recipe from my podcast guest Chef Mikko!

Helen's Memories of Making Vegan Bolo Bao

Growing up, my dad was the sole financial supporter of our family. My mom preferred to stay at home to take care of my siblings and I, and ensure we won’t get into any trouble. My dad worked at various restaurants in Boston as a chef. Every morning before he heads to work, my mom would prepare a mug of Iced Vietnamese Coffee for him along with some sort of bread, oftentimes, pineapple buns, steamed buns, or some sort of milk bread. I remember asking my mom why she didn’t make pineapple buns at home to save money, but she didn’t know how to and enjoyed visiting the Chinese bakeries downtown. So, when I was in middle school, after finally discovering how to work the oven we had at home, I made my first batch of Pineapple Buns after researching countless recipes and key ingredients, in hopes that they would taste good enough that my dad could bring them with him before he headed to work in the morning. I remember spending the entire day in the kitchen measuring the flour repeatedly and waiting for the dough to rise. When the kitchen timer came off, I couldn’t be more excited. They smelled exactly the same as the pineapple buns we get, just a bit smaller and a tiny bit denser. My mom was so surprised that she heated them the next day for my dad to bring to work and even though they did not look the same as his usual ones, he brought them to work every day that week until they were gone. My dad is not huge in expressing his feelings, but I know that he appreciated them. Since then, I made them a few other times for him to bring to work until I went to college. Now that I am vegan, I made a vegan version of these Chinese Pineapple Buns, in remembrance of the buns I made for my dad.

-Helen Au

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Organic all-purpose flour - Substitute: Regular all-purpose flour. Don't use bread flour because bread flour contains a higher level of gluten which would make the buns more chewy and dense.
• Organic cane sugar - Substitution: Beet sugar or coconut sugar
• Active dry yeast - You need to activate the yeast with the milk and sugar, so avoid using instant yeast, which is designed for immediate use and faster rising. Instead, use active dry yeast, as it’s better suited due to the longer rise times for the bread dough.
• Baking powder
• Unsweetened plant-based milk - Soy, oat, hemp, almond, or any other nut milk.
• Vegan butter - Any brand will do, just make sure you get unsalted butter.
• Coconut oil
• Coconut milk powder 
• Turmeric powder - This is for the yellow color of the bun.
• Vanilla extract

Instructions

• Combine flour and water in a saucepan; stir until thick. Cool.
• Mix sugar, yeast, and milk; let foam. Add water and melted butter. 
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add liquids and cooled roux; knead until smooth. Knead in coconut oil. Cover; let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
• Mix turmeric and melted butter. In another bowl, combine the remaining topping ingredients. Stir in the butter mixture. Chill.
• Divide dough into 8 balls on a baking tray; cover; let rise 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut topping into 8, roll each into a disc, score diagonals, and place on buns. 
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool before eating.

Variations on Recipe

If you buy a bolo bao in a Chinese bakery, it will probably be unfilled just like in this pineapple bun recipe, however, below are several recipes that include an optional filling for your sweet buns. 

• Custard filling
• Pineapple jam filling
• Salted egg yolk filling
• Roast pork filling (a different take on char siu bao)

Brief History of Bolo Bao

To me, these sweet buns look like they could be found in many different parts of the world, and that is because their creation was an amalgamation of many different cultures. Most people agree that these buns originated in Hong Kong and that right there should clue you in that these sweet treats have both Chinese influences and Western influences since Hong Kong was once a colony of Britain. Due to this Western influence in Hong Kong, as well as Portuguese influence from Macau, an autonomous region off the coast of Hong Kong, locals sought to create a Western-style bun that could be eaten during breakfast or afternoon tea. 

It doesn't stop there though. In the 19th century, Chinese citizens moved to North America (US, Canada, and Mexico), however, in the 1930s, the US created many immigration bans for Mexican migrants and when they moved back to Mexico, the Chinese people in Mexico were ordered to leave the country. Some brought back Mexican influences to China for their food, and in the 1940s, a family opened a bakery in Hong Kong that featured these delicious pineapple buns as a tribute to a Mexican concha (a traditional Mexican sweet bread with a crunchy topping), and that was the start of this delicious bun. 

source: Foodicles

Equipment

• Small saucepan
• Large bowl
• Stand mixer (optional)
• Plastic wrap OR kitchen towel
• Baking sheet
• Rolling pin

Storage

Can keep the buns at room temperature for 5-7 days in an airtight container.

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Vegan Bolo Bao (Chinese Pineapple Buns)

Print Recipe

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4.7 from 15 reviews

These soft, fluffy, sweet Bolo Bao buns are encased in a crispy shortbread-like dough. Also called Chinese Pineapple Buns.

• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Breads
• Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Roux

• 3 tbsps flour (22g)
• 1/2 cup water

Dough

• 3 cups organic all-purpose flour ((386g), plus more for dusting *See Note 1)
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast ((2 ½ tsp) *See Note 2)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened, plant-based milk (soy, oat, nut, hemp, etc.,warmed)
• 2 tbsps water
• 2 tbsps unsalted vegan butter (melted)
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil
• a pinch of salt

Topping

• 1 cup flour ((113g))
• 1 tbsp coconut milk powder
• 3 tbsps organic cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted vegan butter (melted)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

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Instructions

Cue Up The Episode!

1. Make sure to listen to Helen on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Food in the Real Life Coming-of-Age Story of Helen Au while you make her Vegan Bolo Bao recipe!

Make The Roux (Tangzhong)

1. Combine the flour and water in a small pot over medium heat. Stir until it thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Make The Dough

1. Add the sugar, yeast, and milk to a bowl. Mix and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast foams. Then, add in the water and melted vegan butter and stir to combine.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt together. Slowly add in the wet ingredients and the roux. Knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth. Once ready, add the coconut oil and knead the dough one more time. Cover and allow it to for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Make The Crunchy Topping

1. Add turmeric and melted vegan butter to a bowl. Mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, add the remaining ingredients for the topping and mix until well-combined. Add in the butter mixture and mix until a dough forms. Form into a log and wrap with plastic wrap or cover in a bowl, place in the fridge.

Assemble The Buns

1. Once the dough doubled in size, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll into a ball and place onto a lined baking sheet pan. Cover and allow it to rise again for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 176.6℃.
3. Pull out the topping dough from the fridge and slice into 8 pieces. Roll each piece with a rolling pin into a thin disc that is the size of the buns.

Score The Tops

1. Once the buns are ready, place the topping on the dough balls. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the crackling in a criss-cross pattern.

Bake The Buns

1. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before eating. Enjoy!

Notes

• Note 1: Substitute: Regular all-purpose flour. Don't use bread flour because bread flour contains a higher level of gluten which would make the buns more chewy and dense.
• Note 2: You need to activate the yeast with the milk and sugar, so avoid using instant yeast, which is designed for immediate use and faster rising. Instead, use active dry yeast, as it’s better suited due to the longer rise times for the bread dough.
• Make sure to listen to Helen on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Food in the Real Life Coming-of-Age Story of Helen Au while you make her Vegan Bolo Bao recipe!*

Nutrition

• Calories: 417
• Sugar: 19
• Sodium: 227
• Fat: 12
• Saturated Fat: 3
• Carbohydrates: 70
• Fiber: 2
• Protein: 8