Easy Matcha Buns (1-rise Mantou)
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5
123 reviews
Excellent
Easy Matcha Buns (1-rise Mantou)
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Easy Matcha Buns are soft steamed buns made from dough enriched with matcha powder, giving a subtle green tea flavor and color. The dough combines all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, baking powder, and warm water, kneaded to a smooth ball before shaping. Steaming produces light, fluffy buns with a delicate matcha aroma, suitable as a snack or accompaniment to meals.
Description
This recipe creates steamed buns by mixing flour, sugar, matcha powder, instant yeast, and baking powder with warm water. The dough is kneaded on low speed until smooth and elastic, then divided and shaped into simple oblong or round buns. The buns are steamed over boiling water until cooked through, resulting in a soft, tender texture characteristic of mantou.
The addition of matcha powder adds a mild earthy green tea flavor and a distinctive pale green color. The method uses a single rise and steaming rather than baking, which produces a moist, pillowy texture without crust.
These buns can be enjoyed plain or paired with savory or sweet fillings. They are flexible for serving alongside meals or as a light snack. The recipe notes suggest careful hydration adjustment depending on flour type for best dough consistency, and offers advice for freezing individual buns and reheating by steaming without defrosting.
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour Weighing is obviously more accurate than using cups!, aka plain flour, 250g/8.81 oz
- 1 tablespoon white sugar Use vegan sugar with no bone char if making a vegan mantou, or to taste
- 5 t matcha powder 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, 10g/0.35 oz
- 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 water you can substitute this with milk or soy milk but the hydration will be slightly different, warm, 125-140g/4.4-4.9 oz
- oil To oil the metal steamer if you don't have parchment paper/ cupcake wrappers, optional
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
- Adjust water gradually to achieve a smooth dough; start with 125g and add more if needed in small increments.
- Freeze buns individually to prevent sticking and reheat by steaming without defrosting.
- Cook time assumes steaming all buns at once; multiple batches may require time adjustments.
- Use fresh, active yeast for best rise; test yeast activity if uncertain.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
88kcal
(4%)
Carbohydrates
17g
(6%)
Protein
3g
(6%)
Fat
0.3g
(0%)
Saturated Fat
0.04g
(0%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
0.1g
(1%)
Monounsaturated Fat
0.1g
(1%)
Sodium
27mg
(1%)
Potassium
32mg
(1%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
83IU
(2%)
Vitamin C
0.003mg
(0%)
Calcium
18mg
(2%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 12mantou buns
Amount Per Serving
Calories 88 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 88kcal | 4% |
| Carbohydrates | 17g | 6% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 0.3g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.04g | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.1g | 1% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.1g | 1% |
| Sodium | 27mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 32mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 83IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 0.003mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 18mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
123 reviews
Excellent
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