Homemade Pineapple Buns (Bolo bao)

Hokkaido Milk Bread + Cookie Crust

Chinese Bakery Buns Series, part 1

Despite its name, pinepple buns don’t contain actual pineapple. If you were curious about pineapple flavoured bread, I’m sorry to disappoint! The name originates from the fact that the cookie crust resembles a pineapple. I personally don’t think they look that similar. What do you think?

The pineapple bun – or bolo bao as it’s more commonly called – is a soft, sweet, fluffy bun that’s topped with a cookie crust. It’s a classic in Chinese bakeries. If you want to know if a bakery is any good, you try their pineapple bun.

This recipe uses a base of hokkaido milk dough which involves making tangzhong. Tangzhong is a roux and it’s the secret to soft fluffy bread that stays fresh.

Unlike a lot of other pineapple bun (bolo bao) recipes, there’s no need to make cuts on the crust to create the pineapple design. With this recipe, the crust cracks beautifully on its own.

Ingredients:

yield: 6 pineapple buns

Tangzhong (roux):

25g all purpose flour
125g water or milk

Dough:

295g bread flour (all purpose flour can also be used but bread flour will result in a softer dough)
43g granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5g milk powder, full fat
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 egg, room temp
54g milk, room temp
30g unsalted butter, room temp
tangzhong (from above)

Cookie Crust:

60g unsalted butter, softened
60g granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
115g all pupose flour
10g custard powder

Egg wash:

1 egg
splash of milk

Equipment:

Digital food scale
Rubber spatula
Saucepan
Measuring spoons
Rolling pin
Stand mixer
Baking sheet
Pastry brush

Steps:

Cookie crust:

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix until it’s smooth.
Add the egg yolks and mix.
Add vanilla extract and mix.
Add flour, custard powder, salt and baking powder. Mix until a dough forms.
Divide the dough evenly into 6 balls.
Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes then roll out each ball into a round disc.
Place the dough back into the fridge until it’s needed.

Tangzhong (roux):

In a small pot, combine water and flour.
Turn the stove on low-medium heat then continuously mix until it turns into a thick paste.
Transfer the roux to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap directly on top of the roux so it doesn’t form a film/crust.
Let it cool then it’s ready for use.

Note: This can be made the night before. If you choose this route, take the tangzhong out of the fridge 30 mins before using.

The roux will be good in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Dough:

I highly recommend using a stand mixer or a bread machine for this. You can knead by hand but it is extremely tiring and will take 30+ minutes.

Place all the ingredients besides the butter in the stand mixer.
Using the stand hook attachment, mix until everything comes together and forms a dough.
Once the dough forms, add the butter. Continue to mix/knead the dough until it passes the window pane test

To do the window pane test, grab a piece of dough and gently pull it. The dough should stretch until it’s almost transparent without tearing. If the dough tears then it doesn’t pass the test. Keep kneading until it passes the test. A dough that does not pass the window pane test won’t be as soft.
Cover the dough and let it rest until it doubles in size. This will take approximately an hour.
Deflate the dough and divide it evenly into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball then cover and let it rest until it doubles. This will likely take another hour. Bread making is not a fast process.
Preheat the oven to 365F (185C).
Place a cookie crust on top of each bun.
In a small bowl, whisk an egg and add a splash of milk. Brush each bun with the egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes.
ENJOY!