Steamed scallion buns to rival the best dim sum in town! Soft, fluffy and fragrant with spring onions!
I’ve been meaning to make these steamed scallion buns ever since I first spotted them on instagram. They look so soft and packed full of scallions (or spring onions where I’m from) and I could just tell how gorgeously fragrant they’d be! But here’s the deal: for the longest time I’ve been a total yeast-phobe!
By yeast-phobe I mean I was very intimidated by any recipe which was raised with yeast. It’s only recently (since starting SNV really..) that I’ve learned to feel comfortable baking with yeast!
I braved it, threw myself at this recipe – mind body and soul, and look how they turned out!
How did they turn out??
I wasn’t disappointed! They’re SUPER soft and such a dreamy slightly sticky texture. Dunk them in the deliciously spicy dipping sauce and you’ve got my dream snack! Don’t feel like making a sauce? Just dip them in hoisin sauce!
Traditionally these guys are called Hua Juan buns and hail from china. The dough is technically identical to bao dough, it’s just shaped differently, so feel free to re-imagine these in any shape you’d like.
In fact, the dough recipe is practically identical to my Char Siu Bao, so if you’ve made a batch of them, why not save half of the dough and make some Steamed Scallion Buns!
Tips for yeast-phobes!
So, if you’re anything like me, making these steamed scallion buns is intimidating because of the yeast factor! But please don’t fret! It’s actually SUPER easy! Here are some tips for dealing with this yeasted dough:
- Leaving dough to hydrate (i.e. letting the flour soak up the water) is a pretty big part of successful “bread” baking. Once you’ve mixed all your ingredients together, cover the bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes. You’ll find the dough is much easier to work with once it’s fully hydrated!
- If in doubt, prove for TOO long! I’ll admit it – I’m impatient! But if you’re not sure whether your dough has proved or not, it’s best to leave it a little longer. In my opinion, overproved is always better than underproved! Once of the best ways to tell how much your dough has risen is to use a glass bowl and mark on the side with sticky tape where your dough started. When you come back in an hour you won’t be guessing how much bigger your dough has become!
- Let the gluten (and you) relax for a bit! When you knead dough for ages, the gluten becomes tense and the dough becomes hard to work with. You’ll find the dough wants to spring back to its original shape when the gluten is too tense. In this case, cover the dough for ten mins and come back to it when its had chance to relax. The gluten will have chilled out and the dough will be much more malleable!
What can I serve them with??
I usually serve these guys as part of a dim sum platter, or as part of a Chinese meal! Why not serve them alongside some dan dan noodles or some shiitake and pickled mustard greens dumplings!
Equipment
- bamboo steamer
Ingredients
For the Steamed Scallion Buns
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 235 ml oat/soy milk warmed in a pan to around 32c
- 200 g plain flour
- 160 g type “00” flour
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp finely chopped scallions
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
For the Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp chinese black vinegar Chinkiang is best
- 1 tsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/2 tsp szechuan chilli oil
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- pinch white sesame seeds
Instructions
To Make the Buns
- Pour the warm milk into a small bowl along with 2 tbsp of the sugar – stir together until dissolved. Sprinkle over the yeast. Whisk lightly and leave to go slightly foamy.
- Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead for a minute or until you have a very sticky messy dough. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl – leave for 10 minutes for the dough to hydrate fully. After 10 minutes return the hook to the stand mixer and knead for around 5 minutes or until you have a smooth ball of dough.
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a cold oven. Pour around 100ml boiling water into a baking tray and place at the bottom of the oven – beneath the dough. Leave until doubled in size (around 1-2 hours).
- While the dough proves, whip up your Scallion Glaze by combining the scallions, sea salt, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Once proved, remove the dough from the oven and push out any large air bubbles with your finger tips. Lightly flour a work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Divide the dough in half with a sharp knife then divide each half into four. Form each piece of dough into a small ball and place on a baking tray. Cover with cling film and leave to relax for 10 minutes.
- Once the dough is relaxed, remove one ball from the tray and place on the floured surface, covering the rest of the balls back up. Dust the top of the ball and, using a rolling pin, roll out into a long oval. With a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut strips into the dough along the length of the oval, leaving a 1/2cm at the top and bottom of the dough (as in this video). Brush the cut dough with your scallion glaze.
- Pinching both ends of the oval, twist them in opposite directions )as though you’re making a cheese strauntil you have a very twisted piece of dough with scallions showing through the layers. Curl the length of dough around like a snail and then tuck the loose end over and under (or, again, just copy this video). Place on a square of baking parchment before repeating with the other balls of dough.
- Once all the balls of dough have been transformed into twisted buns, place them on a baking tray and cover with cling film. Return them to your oven (again, not switched on and add a little more boiling water to the a tray in the bottom of the oven to help them prove. Leave to prove for 35 minutes.
- Once proved, turn on a steamer or place a bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water. Place the buns in the steamer with plenty of space around them (they’ll grow quite a lot as they cook). You may have to cook them in 2 batches. If you do, place the buns which aren’t cooking in the fridge to stop them from overproving. Steam your buns for 13 minutes.
- While they’re steaming, mix together all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Once steamed, they should be nicely puffed up. Allow them to cool slightly before serving with a small bowl of dipping sauce and a sprinkle of fresh scallions!
Don’t we need to put some water in to make the dough? Or does the hydration come from the oil? Or do we add the yeast mix at step 2?
The hydration comes from the oat milk