Discover the pillowy soft Strawberry Mantou recipe! A modern take on a classic fluffy steamed buns by infusing them with strawberry flavor.
What is a Mantou?
Mantou is a type of Chinese steamed bun made simple ingredients like flour, yeast, and sugar. These soft and fluffy buns are a staple in Chinese cuisine and are often served as a side dish or used as a vessel for various fillings like meat, vegetables, or sweet bean paste. It can be enjoyed plain or flavored just like what we’re doing in this recipe.
What Makes this an Easy Strawberry Mantou recipe?
Unlike the traditional method which uses only yeast, this recipe combines yeast and baking powder for quicker, easier cooking. The yeast-only approach involves double-proofing, and the yeast+baking powder method requires just one proofing, making it efficient and ideal for busy or impatient cooks, like me.
Making the Dough
This recipe makes 6 medium mantou buns.
First, mix the water, sugar, yeast in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes until the yeast gets activated. In a separate bowl place your flour and baking powder. After 5 minutes, combine the yeast and flour mixture together.
Kneading by hand
Kneading dough to perfection by hand can be quite the workout! Here’s a little trick I use to make it easier: give the dough a quick rest right after you’ve roughly combined all the ingredients. Then, dive into kneading until the dough feels uniformly smooth. Trust me, it makes the whole process much more manageable!
Using a stand mixer
This is definitely my go-to method. After combining the ingredients, kneed the dough on low speed for about 8 minutes, until your dough is smooth.
Resting the Dough
My easy Mantou recipe takes a simplified approach—just one resting process needed! After shaping the buns, pop them into the steamer basket. Make sure to give them some breathing room, as they’ll double in size after cooking.
Now, the resting time can vary depending on your room temperature. For me, it’s about 30 minutes in a cozy room at around 25°C/77°F. If your space is cooler, give them a bit more time, and vice versa.
After proofing, your buns should be slightly bigger, with a smooth surface. Give them a gentle press—they should bounce back. This means they’re ready to be steamed!
Steaming Mantou
A bamboo steamer is the best option when steaming a mantou. However, if you’re like me who doesn’t have one, a metal steamer will do the trick. For a metal steamer, wrap the lid with a clean tea towel. This prevents condensation from dripping onto the buns, preserving their smooth appearance.
To prevent sticking, line your steamer basket with steamer parchment paper, available in Asian shops or online. Cut out circles from regular parchment paper, ensuring they’re larger than the buns. Alternatively, brush a thin layer of oil on the basket, especially effective for metal steamers.
Variations of this Easy Strawberry Mantou
Plain – It’s very simple to adapt this recipe if you prefer a plain mantou. Simply omit the strawberry essence and you’ll have the classic version!
Other flavors – There are so many options on flavors you can use such as ube, coconut, yuzu, espresso, or matcha.
Storing Leftover Mantou Buns
Having pre-made Mantou on hand is a lifesaver for those sudden cravings! Once your leftover buns are cool, store them in an airtight container or plastic bag. They’ll keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Now, steamed buns can get a bit firm and hard when cold. But fear not! To restore their softness and fluffiness, simply reheat them in the steamer. It only takes about 4 minutes for fridge-kept buns and 6 minutes for frozen ones—no need to defrost. Easy peasy!
Pro Tip
Looking for that smooth, flawless finish? The secret is to avoid overproofing your buns. Overproofing leads to excessive air, creating big air pockets inside the bun. Result? It collapses once cooking stops.
Easy Strawberry Mantou
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer with dough attachment (optional)
- 1 Steamer
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Small bowl
Ingredients
- 130 mL Lukawarm water (see note 1) Between 32- 35℃
- 1 tsp Instant yeast or dry active yeast
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 250 g All-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Strawberry emulsion
Instructions
Preparing the dough
- In a small bowl, place the 130 mL of lukewarm water, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp instant yeast. Gently stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, measure 250g of all purpose flour and add ¾ tsp of baking powder in your mixing bowl.
- After 5 minutes, once the yeast has been activated, pour the mixture in the mixing bowl with the flour. Add the 2 tsp of strawberry emulsion
- IF KNEADING BY HAND: Knead the mixture briefly. Leave to rest for 10 minutes (covered), then nead again until very smooth.
- IF KNEADING WITH A STAND MIXER: Knead on low speed using the dough attachment until a very smooth dough forms (about 8 minutes).
Shaping the buns
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces (4 pieces if you prefer bigger buns). Knead and fold the dough piece towards the centre of the ball resulting in a smooth outer surface. Rotate the ball between your hands to form a slightly raised shape.
Proofing the buns
- Place a parchment paper under each of the shaped bun (see note 2)
- Place the buns in the steamer basket. Make sure to leave ample space between each bun.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rest for around 30 minutes. Well-rested buns should be slightly bigger (not double the size) and very smooth on the surface. When pressed gently, the dough bounces back (see note 3).
Steaming the buns
- Place the steaming basket onto a pot/wok filled with cold water. Start cooking with high heat (see note 4).
- Turn down to medium-low once the water is at a full boil. Count 10 mins from this moment (add 2 mins if your buns are bigger). Serve warm.
Notes
- If you have a thermometer, measure the temperature and make sure it’s between 32-35C. Any hotter and it will kill your yeast.
- The proofing time varies depending on the room temperature. It takes me 30 minutes in a room at about 25°C/77°F. So if it’s cooler in yours, extend the time a little and vice versa.
- If you don’t have parchment paper, you can brush a thin layer of oil on the steamer to avoid sticking.
- If using a metal steamer, wrap its metal/glass lid with a clean tea towel. This way the condensation created during the steaming process will be absorbed by the cloth instead of dripping onto the buns affecting their smooth appearance.
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