Steamed Buns | Baozi – My Food Story

Steamed buns or Baozi are pillow-y soft, cloud-like buns with a delicious filling. These are easy to make, come together quickly, delicious, and the filling options are endless!

Chinese Steamed Buns is one of those dishes that once you try, you wonder why you don’t have it more often. Also known as baozi, these buns are a close cousin of bao and  have the same pillow-y and cloudy soft texture as baos. 

And while they may look complicated, believe me, making them a home is insanely easy! It only calls for pantry staple ingredients and with my easy-to-follow stuffed buns recipe, you’ll be dishing out perfect baozi in no time! 

These steamed stuffed buns traditionally have a pork filling, but I usually use the same filling as my momos. And believe me, it tastes delicious! 

Chinese Bao Bun Ingredients 

• All-purpose flour (maida) – the base of the steamed buns. I don’t recommend using any other type of flour for this recipe 
• Instant yeast – helps the dough rise and creates that airy, fluffy texture
• Baking powder – adds extra lightness to the buns
• Sugar – feeds the yeast and gives the bao a subtle sweetness
• Salt – for seasoning and balance
• Milk – lukewarm temperature milk makes the dough soft and rich
• Cooking oil – used for brushing to prevent sticking during steaming 

For the stuffing: For these recipes, I have used the same stuffing as my chicken momos. You can use my veg momos with soya filling if you want to make it vegetarian.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Richa’s Top Tips 

• Measure flour carefully. Too much flour can make the dough dense. Spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off for best results.
• Let the dough rise until visibly puffy in a warm place, not just by the clock. Under-proofed dough leads to tight, heavy baos. 
• Keep the dough covered under a damp cloth at all times. Bao dough dries out quickly. A damp cloth makes a noticeable difference while shaping and resting.
• Before steaming, avoid dousing the dough in too much oil. Just a thin brush of oil is enough to prevent sticking without weighing the dough down.
• Steam the buns over medium heat. Aggressive boiling can cause uneven cooking and wrinkled baos.
• Always rest before opening the lid. That final 5-minute rest inside the steamer helps the baos hold their shape and stay fluffy. 

How to Make Steamed Bun – Step by Step

Making the dough

1. Start by mixing together the dry ingredients like flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar, salt to a mixing bowl or stand mixer. 
2. Add milk little by little while mixing with a spatula until you get a smooth dough. Knead this for 10 minutes.

Proofing the dough:

1. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or damp cloth and rest the dough until it doubles in size. This should take about 1 hour. 

Rolling bao: 

1. After the dough doubles in size, punch the dough down with your fist to release the air and knead again for a minute. 
2. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces, shape one of the dough portions into a ball & using a rolling pin, roll into a thick disc. Fold once and roll again & repeat once more. This process makes the buns fluffy & soft inside. Cut into 5-6 equal strips & roll into a  round ball. rest them on a plate and keep covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying. Repeat the same process for the rest of the dough portion. 
3. Once they have rested for about 30 minutes, they will double in size. You may steam these as plain or stuffed buns.
4. For stuffed buns: Working on one dough ball at a time, use a rolling pin to roll the ball into a circle of 4 inch diameter, dust with dry flour if the dough is too sticky to roll (Do not dust with too much of flour as it makes the buns dry). Take the rolled dough circle in your non-dominant hand, add 1 tablespoon of stuffing in the centre, hold the dough circle edge with your dominant hand and make small pleats all around the circle. Bring all the pleats together & pinch them together to seal the stuffing well. Rest the stuffed buns before steaming for at least 30 minutes on a plate covered with a damp cloth.

Steaming bao:

1. Bring the steamer to a boil. Lightly brush the risen baos with oil.
2. Place the steamer plate in the steamer, covering with a lid lined with a kitchen towel to prevent condensation from dripping.
3. Steam over medium heat for 10–12 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let the baozis rest in the covered steamer for 5 minutes before opening the lid to prevent deflation.
5. Transfer the baos to a wire rack to cool.
6. Steam remaining baos in batches, keeping unsteamed ones on a greased plate covered with a damp cloth.

Storage Tips

• Store Chinese steamed buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Reheat by steaming for 2 minutes, or microwave with a cup of water to prevent drying.
• Avoid freezing after filling; freeze plain bao zi instead if needed. 

Once you make steamed buns at home with this simple recipe, you’ll think twice before ordering them outside. They’re soooo easy to make endlessly customisable! Plus, that pillow-y soft texture will make you reach for seconds, and thirds, and then some more 😂
If you try this Gua Bao recipe at home then send me pictures of your recreations over in my Instagram DMs @my_foodstory.

Watch Steamed Buns (Baozi) Recipe Video

This article was researched and written by Urvi Dalal.