Easy Matcha Buns (1-rise Mantou)

1 matcha green tea bun before being steamed.

4.98 from 41 votes

An easy matcha bun (Chinese mantou bao) recipe which only requires 1 proof (1 rise), along with a mantou FAQ section on how to use a metal steamer (instead of the traditional bamboo steamer) and why your naturally vegan matcha buns aren't smooth.

Prep Time50

Cook Time15

Total Time1 5

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese, Fusion, singaporean, Southeast Asian

Servings: mantou buns

Calories: 88kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

stand mixer with dough hook
metal steamer with cloth to wrap the lid
parchment paper

Ingredients

1 Cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose/plain flour (250g/ 8.81 oz) Weighing is obviously more accurate than using cups!
1 tablespoon white sugar, or to taste Use vegan sugar with no bone char if making a vegan mantou
5 t matcha powder (10g/ 0.35 oz) Note: As your matcha ages, it will become less flavourful, so if your matcha is old you may need to add more to the buns.
1 teaspoon instant yeast If working with fresh yeast, multiply by 4 i.e. use 4 teaspoons of fresh yeast. If you don't use your yeast regularly, test a bit in warm water to make sure it's still active before making this recipe!
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½-⅝ g warm water (125-140g/ 4.4- 4.9 oz) you can substitute this with milk or soy milk but the hydration will be slightly different
Oil (Optional) To oil the metal steamer if you don't have parchment paper/ cupcake wrappers

Instructions

Fill the steamer with tap water.
Mix the dry ingredients well, then add the water. Using a dough hook attachment, knead in a stand mixer on low for approximately 8 minutes. Different brands of flours have different hydration levels so you may need more water to get a smooth dough: start with 125g of water then gradually add more, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary.
You will know that the dough has been sufficiently kneaded once it becomes a smooth ball that does not stick to the mixing bowl or to your hands. After stopping the stand mixer, knead with your hands for another minute or so. (Alternatively, if you've missed your gym workout, you can do the kneading by hand- just remember to rest the dough for 10-15 minutes after the ingredients have combined to form a rough mixture.)
After mixing, you can move on straight to shaping the dough. For this post, we'll just focus on the simple mantou shapes: oblong and round. Divide the log of dough into 2, then cut each log into 6 pieces, giving you 12 in total. You can steam the oblong dough pieces as they are or roll them into round balls before steaming. To get round mantou buns, pull and tuck the ends of the dough so that the seams are all facing downwards- you will get a round-ish top and just roll each bun (on a floured surface, parchment paper or Silpat mat to prevent sticking) till smooth. Note: if you don't have a smooth ball of dough here, your mantou won't miraculously become smooth post steaming!
To prevent the dough from sticking to the steamer, either place the dough onto small pieces of parchment paper (you can substitute with cupcake wrappers if lazy to cut up parchment paper) or oil the steamer- you will need to re-oil every time you add new mantous to the steamer. Personally, I find using parchment paper makes it easier to remove the mantous after steaming.
Place the buns into the steamer, ensuring that there is at least 1.5 inches in between each mantou if you don't want to stick to each other after steaming. Allow to rest for 20 (tropical weather of 30C/ 86F) to 30 minutes (25C/ 77F weather). You will know the dough is sufficiently rested when the buns are very smooth, have increased about 40-50% in size (they will not double in size) and spring back after being pressed. If you're unable to steam all the mantou buns at 1 go, store them in the fridge to stop them from overproofing- this is particularly important in warm countries as heat expedites the proofing process.
Turn on the fire to high, then reduce to medium-low once the water is at a rolling boil. After 10 minutes, switch off the fire. The steamed green tea bread is best enjoyed warm. If the mantous aren't as smooth as you'd like, scroll back up my mantou troubleshooting section which identifies common mantou making mistakes.
The steamed matcha buns are ready to be enjoyed!

Notes

Cook time is based on the assumption that all the mantous are steamed in 1 go.

If freezing, remember to freeze them individually (non-touching) so they don't stick. To reheat, there's no need to defrost- just add a few minutes to the steaming time.

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

Nutrition