Welcome to The Storied Recipe! I host a unique podcast where every guest gives me a recipe that’s significant to their culture, life, and memories. I make, photograph, and share the recipe with you. I invite you to listen to Helen's story as you make her Vegan Bolo Bao buns.
These bolo bao buns are.... amazing. They're light, fluffy, and sweet (if you make them correctly and don't over prove 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 dough of dough with an almost shortbread-like texture. As the buns cook, the sweet dough surrounding the buns crisp and brown and turn absolutely heavenly.
This recipe was given to me by my podcast guest, Helen Au. she shared a beautiful childhood memory surrounding these buns. I'm honored to share it with you:
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 and 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 enjoys visiting the Chinese bakeries downtown. So, when I was in middle school, after discovering finally 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 can bring them with him before he heads 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. At the end, when the kitchen timer came off, I couldn’t be more excited. They smelled exactly the same as the pineapple buns we get. However, they were a bit smaller and a tiny bit denser.My mom was so surprised that I was able to make them and was really happy with them even though I was a little bit down that they were not as fluffy as I thought they would be. My mom 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.
Episodes Related to this Bolo Bao Recipe
Visit the episode post:
Ep. 056 Food in the Real Life Coming-of-Age Story of Helen Au
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How to Contact Helen Au
Instagram: @astepfullofyou
Website: www.astepfullofyoublog.com
Also Try Helen's Vegan Vietnamese Pho Recipe
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Vegan Bolo Bao (Chinese Pineapple Buns)
Difficulty: Medium8
servings2
hours20
minutes2
hours20
minutesThese soft, fluffy, sweet Bolo Bao buns are encased in a crispy shortbread-like dough. Also called Chinese Pineapple Buns.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Roux
3 tablespoon 3 (22g) flour
½ cup ½ water
- Dough
3 cups 3 organic all-purpose flour (386g), plus more for dusting
½ cup ½ organic cane sugar
1 packet 1 (2 ½ tsp) active dry yeast
2 teaspoon 2 baking powder
½ cup ½ unsweetened, plant-based milk of choice, warmed
2 tablespoon 2 water
2 tablespoon 2 unsalted, vegan butter, melted
½ teaspoon ½ coconut oil;-pinch of salt
- Topping
1 cup 1 (113g) flour
1 tablespoon 1 coconut milk powder
3 tablespoon 3 organic cane sugar
½ teaspoon ½ baking powder
¼ teaspoon ¼ turmeric powder
⅓ cup ⅓ + 1 tablespoon unsalted vegan butter, melted
¼ teaspoon ¼ pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Roux
- Combine the flour and water in a small pot over medium heat. Stir until it thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Dough
- 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.
- 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.
- Meanwhile, make the topping. Add the turmeric and melted vegan butter to a bowl. Mix well.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- 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.
- Once the buns are ready, top them with the topping. Using a knife, lightly score diagonal lines to the toppings of the buns.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
- 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!
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