Milky Blossom Buns — If You Have Flour and Eggs, Try This
By Vivian
Why You'll Love It
These milky blossom buns are actually better than bread. The texture is bread-like: fried first, then steamed, and out they come soft enough to bounce back, every bite full of dairy flavor — fine and sweet. My kid goes for them every time.
I can eat three myself. It's simple, no complicated technique, and a beginner can't fail it. Promise me you'll try these big milky blossom buns. They're genuinely excellent.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 1¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour | ¼ cup (60 ml) milk |
| 1 tsp (5 ml) corn oil | 1 egg |
| ¾ tsp (2 g) instant yeast | 1 tsp (5 g) sugar |
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour is right — bread flour steams up firm.
- Warm the milk to about 95°F (35°C). Hotter kills the yeast.
- Mix the yeast into the flour first, before it meets sugar or salt.
- Use a sharp knife so the cut is clean and the blossom opens properly.
- Corn oil can be swapped for melted butter for a richer dairy flavor.
Instructions
-
1
Mix the flour, yeast, and sugar in a bowl first (keeping the yeast off the sugar so it doesn't lose strength), then add the egg, warm milk, and corn oil, stir with chopsticks until no dry flour remains, and knead into a smooth dough that doesn't stick. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
-
2
Turn the dough out onto the board, knead another 2 minutes to deflate, roll into an even log, and cut into equal pieces.
-
3
Take one piece and roll it between your palms into a smooth ball. With a sharp knife, cut a cross or three slashes into the top, about ½ in (1 cm) deep — not too shallow, or it won't open as it rises; not all the way through, or it falls apart.
-
4
Set each piece cut-side down on a parchment-lined plate, cover, and let it rise somewhere warm, around 86°F (30°C), to 1½ times. Press lightly with a finger: if the dent springs back slowly, it's ready.
-
5
Put them cut-side down in a dry, oil-free skillet and fry until the bottoms are browned, about 2 minutes — lift one with your hand to check if you're not sure.
Then steam them over high heat for 15 minutes and rest 3 minutes.
-
6
And that's it — milky blossom buns. Very simple, hard to get wrong, and loved by adults and kids alike. Good alongside congee or noodles.
Recipe Notes
Milky Blossom Buns
dough made with flour, egg, and milk, pan-fried first and then steamed. Soft enough to spring back, richly milky, and split open on top from a cross cut into the dough. No oven.
Time Needed
Prep Ahead
- Nothing to prep — just get everything out and start.
- 【Yield】1¼ cups (150 g) flour makes 6 small buns.
- 【Key ratios】Flour to milk ≈ 150:60 plus 1 egg, with ¾ tsp (2 g) yeast and 1 tsp (5 g) sugar.
- 【Heat】Dry skillet over low heat, 2 minutes until the bottoms are browned, then steam over high heat 15 minutes and rest 3 minutes.
- 【Rising】Rest 10 minutes after kneading; after cutting the cross, rise to 1½ times before frying.
- 【Storage & reheating】Freeze up to 2 weeks, re-steam 8 minutes.
- 【Common problems】No blossom means the cut was too shallow (it needs to be ½ in / 1 cm). Falling apart means you cut all the way through.
Nutrition (per 100 g, estimated)
| Calories | about 266 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | about 8 g |
| Fat | about 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | about 45 g |
| of which sugars | about 8 g |
| Fiber | about 1.2 g |
| Sodium | about 60 mg |
Estimated from the ingredient amounts, not lab tested. One bun is about 1.75 oz (50 g), roughly 133 kcal, calculated at 4 / 9 / 4 kcal per g of protein / fat / carbs.