These buns are amazing. They’re light, airy, fluffy, and slightly sweet. I love Asian pastries and desserts because they’re not overly decadent. The flavors are subtle, yet addicting. These buns go great with your morning coffee or tea, or served as a dessert.
This Milk Bun recipe is extremely straightforward. Some recipes require powdered milk, but I like that this one has a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. You mix all of the ingredients in a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you don’t have a mixer), knead for 15 minutes. Allow the dough to proof for 1 hour, shape the dough, proof another hour, then bake. I’ve made this recipe twice, and each time they disappear in no time.
You may even want to double this recipe, it is that good.
This recipe does call for cake flour and bread flour. I’ve found recently cake flour has been hard to find. If you can’t find it (or don’t have it) it can be easily substituted. Use this trick: for every cup of flour, add 3 tablespoons corn starch. Run this mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any clumps and to finely mix the two ingredients together. Ta-da! Now you have cake flour. Allowing the dough to proof is quite possibly the most important step in this recipe. Ensuring to give the dough enough time to rest and double in size is going to make or break your buns. The weather here in San Diego is usually warm enough that I can allow the dough to rest (covered) on my counter. If you want the dough to proof faster (or live in a colder climate) you can also proof the dough in the oven. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Once preheated, turn the oven off and open the oven door and wait about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, place the covered bowl into the oven and shut the door and allow to proof. When the dough has doubled in size, it is ready for the next step.
Brushing the buns with an egg wash right before the bake, and then brushing them with the simple syrup mixture as soon as they come out of the oven creates a glossy, golden brown, and sweet crust. If you don’t eat all of these buns immediately, they can be covered tightly and enjoyed for up to 4 days after. Although they are best enjoyed fresh - they can be reheated in the microwave for about 20 seconds to regain life. Enjoy!
Original recipe adapted slightly from The Woks of Life and can be found here.
- ⅔ cups heavy cream (at room temp)
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk (at room temp)
- 1 large egg (at room temp)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup cake flour
- 3½ cups bread flour
- 1 packet (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- Egg Wash: 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water or milk
- Simple Syrup: ¼ cup sugar dissolved in1/4 cup of water
- In the bowl of the a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, (or a large mixing bowl if mixing by hand) combine heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, dry yeast, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, feel the dough soft and slightly sticky (if you're in a more humid climate - add more bread flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough feels too wet). If you are not using a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand for an additional 10 minutes.
- After mixing/kneading, allow the dough to proof. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and allow to sit on the counter for 1 hour (or until doubled in size).
- After one hour of resting, make a fist and punch the dough down to rid of any air bubbles.
- On a lightly floured surface, turn out the dough. Split the dough in half, and work with one piece at a time.
- With the first piece, cut into 8 even pieces. Using the palm of your hands, roll each piece out into about 8 inch snake-like pieces. With your left hand, hold one snake in the middle, fold in half and twist the pieces 3-4 times. Take the "braid" and shape into a knot. Continue with all 8 pieces, then continue the same process with the other half of the dough.
- Butter 2 9-inch cake pans, and arrange 8 knots in each pan.
- Cover in plastic wrap or a damp towel, and allow to proof for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the knots have doubled in size (about an hour), brush with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the buns and brush with simple syrup.
- Take equal parts sugar and water, (1/4 cup sugar and ¼ cup water) and bring to a boil in a small sauce pan. Once boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool and use.
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