There have been only a handful of times in my life when I didn’t live in relatively close proximity to a Chinese bakery/cafe, or at the very least, within driving distance–my college years in Santa Cruz (a veritable culinary wasteland when it came to authentic Chinese cooking) and my brief stint working/living in Monterey. I’d count my junior year abroad at the University of Kent in Canterbury, except I went up to London so often I had plenty of opportunities to hit up Chinatown. Let me tell you, life would be very depressing indeed if I couldn’t get my Chinese bakery fix.

When I was a kid, before the proliferation of large Asian bakery chains like Sheng Kee, 85C, Kee Wah, and Paris Baguette in local shopping malls, we primarily went to small family-run neighborhood Chinese bakeries for our favorite sweet and savory baked buns–bbq pork, ham and cheese, ham and scallion, hot dog, “cocktail” and “pineapple”–along with other tasty treats. My go-to for much of my childhood was the sweet buttery coconut-filled Cocktail Bun, which, contrary to what the name suggests, has nothing to do with what we would commonly associate with cocktails. In Cantonese they’re called Gai Mei Bao, or “chicken tail bun,” which doesn’t sound particularly appetizing, hence the more sophisticated sounding moniker “cock-tail” bun.

I think of it as the gateway Chinese bakery item because unless you abhor and/or are allergic to gluten and coconut, regardless of cultural background, you’re gonna love it. And once you’re hooked on the pillowy soft, lightly sweet bun bread, you’ll want to try all its other iterations. My friend Nicole has a soft spot for the ham and scallion buns she fondly remembers buying after school from her neighborhood Chinese bakery on Ocean Ave., where the “ham” was actually cut up hot dog. Hey, don’t knock it till you try it.

The other gateway bakery item, for those who hate coconut, are Pineapple Buns. Again, contrary to what the name suggests, no pineapples were sacrificed to make them. They get their name because the signature crosshatch design of a crunchy sweet topping resembles that of a pineapple. The classic version of this fluffy, tender bun is unfilled. A popular way to serve them in Hong Kong-style cafes is split horizontally in half, sandwiched with a fat slab of butter. Who needs a croissant?

I have to admit I’m fairly late in my appreciation of the pineapple bun. To me it was just a tad too naked, just too much bread, particularly the voluminous ones at the neighborhood bakery. I wanted filling to sink my teeth into, which was probably why I rarely ordered them…that is until I discovered the custard-filled variety. Mmmmm, they were heavenly! But I had to question whether I was simply getting them for the custard filling or if I actually liked the bun itself. To be sure a creamy filling can sort of mitigate a multitude of bakery sins. A really good pineapple bun shouldn’t need it. Maybe I just hadn’t had a stellar one.

I found the answer at a dim sum house. We were winding down on the savory dishes and working our way towards the sweets when a cart pulled up beside our table loaded with a selection of steamed cakes and plain petite pineapple buns. I wasn’t sold on the multi-colored steamed cakes, but the cute little buns called to me. Everyone at our table was game so I ordered them. I took a bite of the ethereal tender bun and within 5 seconds inhaled the whole thing. What the heck?! Aside from being extremely easy to eat, they had the perfect proportion of topping to bun and a wonderfully soft texture that was superior to anything I’d ever had at a bakery. No doubt the a la minute nature of the dim sum restaurant played a crucial role in its freshest. The regular bakery version, whether it was from a small neighborhood joint or mall chain, often felt a bit inflated. They were fine if you got them fairly fresh, but they’d dry out pretty quickly without some kind of creamy filling.

The key to a great pineapple bun–well to all buns really– is to create a supple dough that can retain a decent amount of moisture once baked so that the texture is not only fluffy but soft and tender. The recipe I’ve found that seemed to achieve this, not surprisingly, contains a milk roux, which is also the vital component that renders Japanese milk bread gloriously tender and characteristically fluffy. It’s a tiny extra step–cooking the milk and flour mixture into a gluey paste–that’s a total game-changer.

I’m a big fan of using my food processor to make dough. It’s fast, efficient and easy to clean up. So long as the recipe doesn’t exceed the max capacity of the bowl I’m good and this one doesn’t. It comes from the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of Bake from Scratch, where they featured a collection of recipes celebrating Chinese New Year. On the first go around I didn’t alter the recipe for Pineapple Buns much other than substituting 2 1/2 c. of bread flour for all-purpose flour (I wanted to conserve my bread bread flour) and turning half of the dough into BBQ Pork Buns. As expected, the dough was the perfect vehicle to contain my homemade pork filling, far superior to the previous dough I made from another baked bbq pork bun recipe. And who doesn’t like a sweet crunchy topping on their baked bbq pork buns?

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The topping is made like a slice and bake cookie dough. It’s chilled, then portioned out, flattened, and rolled into flat disks, which you then drape over the tops of each formed dough ball and cut crosshatch patterns to create the pineapple look.

I also used it for Cocktail Buns, laying a long strip down the center–not the traditional 2 horizontal stripes, only because I wanted topping with each bite. I’m still working on the right ratio of coconut filing to dough–preferably more filling,

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Once I got the dough and topping down, I went to town on variations. By special request, Nicole challenged me to recreate her beloved “ham” and scallion bun. Since I didn’t feel like buying hot dogs and Spam was really closer to ham anyways, she cut me some slack. Any Spam aficionado will tell you that to bring out the best in this pork product one must crisp it up first, which is exactly what I did–pan-frying slices then cutting them up into smaller pieces.

I arranged 3 rows of pan-fried Spam and scattered chopped scallions in between, rolled up the dough into a neat package, cut 2 diagonal slashes across the top and brushed on egg wash before baking.

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For my next riff on the filled pineapple bun, I made Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Cheese Buns, inspired by the 4 beautiful stalks of rhubarb and a basket of strawberries I’d recently snagged at the neighborhood produce market. My favorite way to cook rhubarb is to cut it into 1″ chunks, lightly poach them in simple syrup, then submerge them in the cooled poaching liquid, refrigerated, at least overnight. This process maximizes rhubarb usage, producing vibrant jewel-toned rhubarb pieces that are tenderly intact (not mushy) and a flavorful syrup that’s perfect for sodas and cocktails–win-win!

I chopped up about 1/3 c. of poached rhubarb, tossed it together with the same amount of chopped strawberries, a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 t. lemon juice, pinch of sea salt and 1 t. cornstarch, then zapped the mixture in the microwave for about 90 seconds to thicken up the juices. To make the cream cheese filling, I beat together by hand 4 oz. of soften cream cheese, 2 T. powdered sugar, pinch of sea salt, 1/2 t. vanilla extract and 1 t. cornstarch until smooth. To form the buns, I rolled a portioned dough ball out to a 4″ disk, making sure the outer edges were thinner than the center, then piped about a tablespoon on cream cheese filing in the center. Placing the disk on the palm on my non-dominant hand, I topped the cream cheese with a spoonful of strawberry rhubarb filling. Using the thumb and forefinger of my free hand, I pleated and pinched the dough edges together to enclose both fillings, rotating the dough in my palm as I went along, then placed the filled bun seam side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Instead of cutting a crosshatch pattern on the topping, I made four small slashes from the center. Before I baked the risen buns, I brushed the tops with egg wash and sprinkled on a little coarse raw sugar.

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I’d describe the result of this baking experiment is a delectable mash-up of fruity cheese danish and pineapple bun–all in all a success!

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I adjusted the following recipe to use more all-purpose (ap) flour because I was rationing my dwindling supply of bread flour. The texture of the dough was more supple and the baked bun seemed more tender, so I’m sticking with my proportions. Also, I mixed my dough in the food processor not a stand mixer as specified in the original recipe.

Pineapple Bun

curtesy of Bake from Scratch

For Topping:

• 4 T. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 2 T. dry milk powder
• 1 c. cake flour (or 3/4 c. + 2 T. ap flour + 2 T. cornstarch)
• 1/2 t. baking powder

1. Beat together butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth.
2. Combine remaining dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
3. Tip the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Form and roll into a log about 1 1/2″ in diameter.
4. Refrigerate until solid.

Dough:

• 1/3 c. whole milk (for roux)
• 2 T. bread flour (for roux)

Whisk the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture until it resembles a thick gluey paste (about 149F degrees). Set aside to cool.

• 2/3 c. warm whole milk (about 100F degrees)
• 5 1/2 T. sugar
• 1 package dry active yeast (or 2 1/4 t.)
• 2 1/2 c. ap flour (plus a little more if needed)
• 1/2 c. bread flour
• 4 T. melted unsalted butter, cooled to room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. vanilla

1. Whisk together the warm milk, yeast and 1 T. sugar; set aside for 5-10 mins. until it gets foamy.
2. Combine the flours, remaining sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to blend.
3. Whisk the butter, egg, vanilla and cooled roux into the yeast mixture. With one hand pour mixture through the feeding tube while simultaneously pulsing to incorporate it into the dry ingredients.
4. Keep pulsing at 3 second intervals until everything comes together in a supple dough. If the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle a little more ap flour, and continue pulsing intermittently until it is smooth and supple and not overly sticky. Dough is ready when it passes the “windowpane” test (should be able to stretch a piece of it from the center thin enough to be almost transparent without tearing).
5. Gather the dough up into a ball and place it inside a greased bowl, rotating it so all sides are greased, then cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in a warm, draft-free space.
6. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 10 equal portions, rolling each piece into a ball, placing the formed balls onto 2 lined sheet pans.
7. Cut the chilled log of topping dough into 10 pieces, then flatten and roll or pat out each piece in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into an approximately 4″ circle
8. Gently wrap the circle over the top of the dough ball, covering as much of it as possible.
9. With a sharp knife cut a crosshatch pattern into the top of each covered ball.
10. Lightly cover the sheets and let the dough rise again until doubled in size.
11. Brush the tops with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T milk).
12. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for about 15 mins. or until golden and internal temperature registers 190F degrees.

Coconut Filling for Cocktail Bun

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 4 T. sugar
• 4 T. cake flour
• 1/3 c. dry milk powder
• 1/2 t. coconut extract
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 c. desiccated coconut

With a stand mixer or food processor blend together ingredients until smooth.