Make the nuttiest and healthiest snack with black sesame steamed buns. You’d definitely enjoy its creamy and mouthwatering black sesame filling, as well as its fluffy and soft steamed bun. Black sesame steamed bun is a classic Chinese snack with a burst of flavor, a perfect snack for any time of the day. It is the ideal pairing for tea and hot drinks too!
What Is A Black Sesame Steamed Bun or Chinese sesame bun?
Chinese steamed buns come in various shapes and tastes. Enjoy savory flavors like beef bao bun and char siu bao or sweet treats like sugar bun and purple sweet potato bun. If you are into sweet and nutty buns, you should try this black sesame steamed bun recipe.
Black sesame is traditionally used in Chinese sweets and desserts such as sweet Chinese black sesame dessert soup (芝麻糊). To use black sesame as this recipe’s filling, you will mix it with water, white sugar, lard or vegetable shortening, starch water, and peanut powder. You can use whole sesame seeds or sesame powder.
This combination will give you a lovely extra nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness. It is rich and creamy with the help of starch water and lard or vegetable shortening. It is the perfect animal-free and gluten-free snack best enjoyed at any time of the day!
Where To Buy Black Sesame Seeds Or Powder?
Sesame seeds are not that hard to find in your local grocery store. You can easily find it in the spice section or the international aisle. It is also available online, such as Amazon or online grocery stores.
Look for black sesame powder to reduce the steps for this recipe. You can still use whole black sesame seeds, but you have to toast and grind them into fine powder before mixing with the filling. If you can’t find black sesame, use white sesame as an alternative.
Dough Ingredients For Steamed Black Sesame Bun
The filling is not the only important part of this recipe but the success of the dough as well. The dough is a mix of flour, sugar, black sesame powder, yeast, lard, and warm water. Each ingredient can affect the results of the dough. Here’s what you need to know about the dough ingredients.
- Flour: I suggest using all-purpose as the dough base. It will make the buns white, soft, and fluffy. Other types of flour such as whole wheat flour, rice flour, and glutinous rice flour won’t work well with the recipe since it will yield a different kind of texture.
- Yeast: The purpose of yeast is to make the bun rise and become fluffy. You can use instant yeast or active dry yeast. Keep in mind some types of yeast may require mixing with warm water first before adding to the flour. In this recipe, I immediately combined yeast with the rest of the dough ingredients.
- Warm Water: Using warm water is crucial as this can affect the texture and activation process of the yeast. It is worth noting that yeast can be killed if the water is too hot, between 120°F to 140°F. If the yeast is killed, it will not activate the rising process, which will make the buns flat. The safest temperature of the water is about 110°C.
- Sugar: Sugar makes the filling sweet and tasty. Aside from adding sweetness, it helps speed up the fermentation process with the yeast. The yeast feeds on sugar and converts it into carbon dioxide and ethanol. These are the two essential elements that will make the bun rise.
- Black Sesame Powder: If you don’t have black sesame powder, use whole seeds instead. You can find raw or toasted black sesame seeds. Raw black sesame seeds should be toasted for about 10 minutes in a pan on medium-low heat. Make sure you do not overtoast the seeds or else it will turn bitter. If you already have toasted black sesame seeds, you do not need to toast them and can go directly to grinding in powder form. Adding black sesame powder to the dough will add nice black spots to its color. If using white sesame powder, the white spots may not be noticeable to the dough, but it will add a hint of nutty flavors.
- Lard:You can make the buns softer and more flavorful by adding lard. You can learn how to make lard from my recipe. If you prefer animal-free ingredients, you can substitute lard with vegetable shortening, plant-based butter, or vegetable oil.
The Correct Way To Make Bun Dough
Getting the ingredients right is one thing, but kneading and proofing the dough is another. Lack of kneading or over-proofing are a few examples of why the dough may not have produced desirable results.
Whether you are making buns for the first time or not, you should know how to knead and proof them properly. To create the perfect soft and fluffy bun, make sure to read my helpful tips and tricks below.
- Achieve the right consistency for the dough:
- With a kitchen scale and thermometer, you can measure your ingredients accurately. If the measurements are inaccurate, the dough may become too runny or stiff. You can use a kitchen weighing scale to make sure you have the right amount of ingredients.
- Add flour or water if necessary to adjust the dough’s consistency. Sometimes, even when measuring the ingredients on a kitchen scale, the type of flour used can affect how much water the dough absorbs. Thus, it can still make the dough too soft or firm. If this happens, simply adjust the consistency by adding flour or water. Do not add too much and add only small amounts. If the dough is runny, add more flour, and if the dough is stiff, add more water.
- Smooth out the texture by kneading thoroughly:
- Knead the dough with your hands by pressing and folding. It should have no air or clumps left in it, otherwise, it will have air pockets that can cause it to break when steamed.
- Make sure you don’t over- or under-proof:
- It usually takes 30 minutes to an hour for buns to proof until they are 1.5 to 2 times their original size.
- The dough should not be over-proofed or under-proofed. Over-proofing will weaken the dough, causing it to crumble and leave a sour taste. Under-proofing will not complete the activation process, leaving it flat.
- You must remember that the temperature of your environment affects how quickly the proofing process will go. The proofing process is sped up in a warmer environment and slowed down in a cool environment. For cold days during winter months, the buns can be proofed faster by placing them in an oven or microwave with a cup of boiled water next to them.
- Properly proofed dough shows these signs:
- Size: The buns should be 1.5 or 2 times larger after proofing.
- Scent: It should smell like wheat and not be unpleasant. You can also smell the yeast.
- Texture: The dough should spring back to its original shape when lightly pressed.
What You Need To Make Black Sesame Buns
Did you read my tips and suggestions above about the filling and dough? Great! Now, you are ready to prepare what you need to make black sesame buns.
Kitchenware
- Cooking pot
- Spatula for stirring
- Mixing bowl
- Dough cutter
- Rolling pin
- Parchment paper
- Steamer
Ingredients
To make black sesame filling:
- 300g water
- 90g white sugar
- 40g lard
- 75g starch water (25g starch mixed with 50g water)
- 55g peanut powder
- 160g sesame powder
To make the dough:
- 500g flour
- 20g sugar
- 20g black sesame powder
- 4g yeast
- 10g lard
- 260g warm water
Detailed Steps On How To Make Black Sesame Buns
Before proceeding with the recipe instructions below, check out my tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok for a clearer picture of making black sesame buns. Have you finished making this recipe? Don’t forget to tag @kitchenmisadventures to show your creations!
1. Make the black sesame filling.
Add all the filling ingredients in a pot.
Cook them on low heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. It should be thick and not runny. If it is too runny or watery, add more starch water to help thicken it.
Place the filling in a container and allow it to cool before putting it in the freezer. This step helps make the filling more pasty and hold better in the dough wrapper.
2. Make the dough.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, black sesame powder, yeast, lard, and warm water.
Mix and knead the ingredients together until a smooth dough forms.
Then, roll the dough into a long cylinder.
Use a dough cutter to divide the dough into 60g portions.
Roll each portion into a small ball.
Next, flatten each ball into a small circular wrapper using a rolling pin.
3. Assemble the filling and dough for steaming.
Take a spoonful of black sesame filling and place it in the center of the dough wrapper.
Wrap and seal the edges of the wrapper by pinching until you form a ball.
Smoothen the buns by rolling them with both hands.
Place the buns in a steamer lined with parchment paper.
Then, put a small container filled with water and a small ball of dough in the steamer as well.
Cover the steamer and allow the dough to proof until the small ball floats.
Once the proofing process is done, steam the buns for approximately 13 minutes(Start timing once the water is boiling) or until cooked through.
Enjoy these fluffy and delicious sesame buns for an afternoon snack or after a meal. If you have extra black sesame powder, use it to make Sweet Chinese Black Sesame Dessert Soup (芝麻糊)as well!
Make The Finest Black Sesame Steamed Buns
Equipment
- Cooking pot
- Spatula for stirring
- Mixing bowl
- Dough cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment paper
- Steamer
Ingredients
To make black sesame filling:
- 300 g water
- 90 g white sugar
- 40 g lard
- 75 g starch water 25g starch mixed with 50g water
- 55 g peanut powder
- 160 g sesame powder
To make the dough:
- 500 g flour
- 20 g sugar
- 20 g black sesame powder
- 4 g yeast
- 10 g lard
- 260 g warm water
Instructions
Make the black sesame filling.
- Add all the filling ingredients in a pot.
- Cook them on low heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. It should be thick and not runny. If it is too runny or watery, add more starch water to help thicken it.
- Place the filling in a container and allow it to cool before putting it in the freezer. This step helps make the filling more pasty and hold better in the dough wrapper.
Make the dough.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, black sesame powder, yeast, lard, and warm water.
- Mix and knead the ingredients together until a smooth dough forms.
- Then, roll the dough into a long cylinder.
- Use a dough cutter to divide the dough into 60g portions.
- Roll each portion into a small ball.
- Next, flatten each ball into a small circular wrapper using a rolling pin.
Assemble the filling and dough for steaming.
- Take a spoonful of black sesame filling and place it in the center of the dough wrapper.
- Wrap and seal the edges of the wrapper by pinching until you form a ball.
- Smoothen the buns by rolling them with both hands.
- Place the buns in a steamer lined with parchment paper.
- Then, put a small container filled with water and a small ball of dough in the steamer as well.
- Cover the steamer and allow the dough to proof until the small ball floats.
- Once the proofing process is done, steam the buns for approximately 13 minutes(Start timing once the water is boiling) or until cooked through.
Hi Kathlyn, thank you for the recipe!
What can I use to substitute peanut power?
Thank you!
Hi Petch,
You are welcome. I believe you can substitute Almond Powder for peanut powder, but I haven’t tried it myself. If you don’t have it, you can simply ignore it.