Savor the delightful Pumpkin Mantou, blending tradition with innovation. With its fluffy texture and flower-like appearance, it’s a perfect centerpiece for any occasion. Whip up a batch at home with pantry-friendly ingredients.
What Is Pumpkin Mantou?
Chinese steamed bun comes in many variations, including Black Sesame Steamed Buns, char siu bao, and Peach Buns. Buns with a filling are known as bao buns or baozi. On the other hand, buns without a filling are called Mantou.
In this recipe, I’ve taken the traditional mantou and elevated it by incorporating pumpkin puree. Additionally, I’ve shaped the mantou into charming flower-like forms. This not only enhances its flavor but also adds to its visual appeal, making it a delightful treat for both the taste buds and the eyes.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Pumpkin Mantou
- Pumpkin: I suggest using raw pumpkin (Nan Gua in Chinese) with the skin peeled off if you prefer fresh ingredients. If you want to lessen the cooking time, canned or frozen pre-cut pumpkin is also an excellent option. You can use red kuri squash, sugar pumpkin, or kabocha pumpkin to have its natural sweetness.
- All-Purpose Flour: Use plain regular flour or all-purpose flour to give the dough a nice white color and soft texture. This is typically the flour of choice for crafting buns like Bunny Steamed Buns, Piggy Buns, and Peach Buns. Avoid special flour types like whole wheat flour, rice flour, or glutinous rice flour since these will result in a different texture not ideal for Chinese buns.
- Yeast: This is the key ingredient in making the buns rise. It allows the mantou to rise during resting. I suggest using instant yeast, quick-rise, or fast-rising yeast. Other types of yeast require mixing with warm water first before adding to the flour.
- Sugar: Not only does sugar counter the flavors of flour and yeast, but it also helps in speeding up the fermentation process of the yeast. Yeast feeds on sugar and converts it into carbon dioxide and ethanol, the two components that make the buns rise and airy.
Ingredients:
- 250g pumpkin puree
- 20g granulated sugar
- 4g active dry yeast
- 500g all-purpose flour
- Oil for brushing
Recipe Instructions To Make Pumpkin Mantou:
Prepare the Pumpkin:
Slice the pumpkin thinly and steam it until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
Mash the cooked pumpkin into a smooth puree and allow it to cool.
Mix the Dough:
Combine pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and active dry yeast in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Gradually incorporate the pumpkin mixture into the flour in a large mixing bowl, stirring until a dough forms.
Knead and Divide:
Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, then divide it into 3 equal portions.
Roll each portion of dough into a long strip. Then, place two of the dough strips together and brush oil onto them. Finally, place the strip without oil on top of the others.
Using both hands, gently push and squeeze the strips together to combine them.
Cut and Shape:
Cut the combined strips into pieces approximately 3cm long.
Place each piece of dough on a cutting board, rotating and rubbing it with both hands to ensure firmness.
Hold each piece of dough with one hand while using the thumb and index finger of the other hand to squeeze and compact it.
Repeat this process with the remaining dough pieces.
Allow to Rise:
Place each portion of dough on the prepared parchment paper. Allow the dough pieces to rise until they are approximately 1.5 times their original size. This typically takes around 30 to 45 minutes.
Steam the Mantou:
Prepare your steamer by filling it with cold water. Place the mantou in the steamer and start steaming. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes, timing from when the water starts boiling.
After steaming, turn off the heat and refrain from opening the steamer lid. Allow the mantou to rest undisturbed for 2 minutes. Remove the pumpkin mantou from the steamer and serve them warm.
Pumpkin Mantou Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g pumpkin puree
- 20 g granulated sugar
- 4 g active dry yeast
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- Oil for brushing
Instructions
Prepare the Pumpkin:
- Slice the pumpkin thinly and steam it until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
- Mash the cooked pumpkin into a smooth puree and allow it to cool.
Mix the Dough:
- Combine pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and active dry yeast in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Gradually incorporate the pumpkin mixture into the flour in a large mixing bowl, stirring until a dough forms.
Knead and Divide:
- Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, then divide it into 3 equal portions.
- Roll each portion of dough into a long strip. Then, place two of the dough strips together and brush oil onto them. Finally, place the strip without oil on top of the others.
- Using both hands, gently push and squeeze the strips together to combine them.
Cut and Shape:
- Cut the combined strips into pieces approximately 3cm long.
- Place each piece of dough on a cutting board, rotating and rubbing it with both hands to ensure firmness.
- Hold each piece of dough with one hand while using the thumb and index finger of the other hand to squeeze and compact it.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough pieces.
Allow to Rise:
- Place each portion of dough on the prepared parchment paper. Allow the dough pieces to rise until they are approximately 1.5 times their original size. This typically takes around 30 to 45 minutes.
Steam the Mantou:
- Prepare your steamer by filling it with cold water. Place the mantou in the steamer and start steaming. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes, timing from when the water starts boiling.
- After steaming, turn off the heat and refrain from opening the steamer lid. Allow the mantou to rest undisturbed for 2 minutes. Remove the pumpkin mantou from the steamer and serve them warm.
