← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 300 g Strong bread flour
• 40 g Sugar
• 7 g instant or active dry yeast
• ½ tsp Salt
• 150 ml warm whole milk
• 1 Eggs
• 30 g unsalted butter, softened
• 55 g unsalted butter, softened
• 60 g Icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 100 g plain flour
• ½ tsp Baking powder
• ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp milk, to glaze

Method

1. Mix the bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a bowl. Add the warm milk and egg and knead for 5 min, then work in the softened butter and knead for 8–10 min more, until smooth and stretchy. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
2. For the topping, beat the butter and icing sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda to make a soft dough. Wrap and chill until needed.
3. Knock back the dough and divide into 8 pieces. Shape each into a tight ball and set on a lined baking tray, well apart. Cover and leave to rise for 40 min, until puffy.
4. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Divide the topping into 8, roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper into a thin circle, and lay one over each bun.
5. Brush the topping with the egg glaze and score a criss-cross pattern lightly with a knife. Bake for 15–18 min, until deep golden and crackled.
6. Cool for 10 min on a rack. Serve warm, split and filled with a thick slice of cold butter for the classic "bo lo yau".

Tips

• There is no pineapple in it: the name comes from the crackled top.
• Contains wheat, egg and dairy.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Sift & Simmer Taste of Asian Food