The pineapple bun recipe has no pineapple. But it does have a crunchy, crackly top and the softest, most pillowy bun you can imagine. It’s the kind of treat that makes you reach for a second one before you’ve finished the first!
Freshly baked pineapple buns have that heady aroma of yeast, butter, and toasted sugar. With a little patience, this recipe helps you recreate the magic of Asian bakery-style pineapple buns right in your own kitchen.
It’s a labor of love, but let me tell you, the silence that falls over the room when people start eating homemade pineapple buns is totally worth it!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✨ These Chinese pineapple buns have a crunchy, crackled, cookie-like crust and a soft, fluffy bun. That contrast in textures? It’s everything.
✨ The recipe uses the tangzhong method - also known as the water roux method, it completely changes how soft homemade bread can be. Once you try it, you’ll want to use it in all your bread baking.
✨ The buns are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a snack (like my soft homemade pretzel bites). Serve them for brunch, add them to your Chinese New Year fest, or enjoy them with tea in the evening.
✨ You can make the dough in advance and bake it the next day. The texture remains great. And even though they look fancy, pineapple bun ingredients are actually pantry staples you’ll likely already have.
Pineapple Bun Ingredients
Flour: All-purpose flour keeps the buns light and tender.
Sugar: Adds gentle sweetness to both the bun and the topping.
Milk to activate the yeast. Make sure it’s lukewarm, around 105°F (40.5°C).
Yeast: I used dried active yeast to help the dough rise and get fluffy.
Condensed milk is the secret to that signature milky richness and extra soft texture, much like in chocolate fudge with condensed milk. You can use homemade coconut condensed milk.
Butter is for flavor and tenderness. I used salted butter.
Eggs give structure and richness to the dough. You’ll need an additional yolk for the crust topping.
Vanilla extract gives a warm, aromatic sweetness to the bun topping. I love to use homemade vanilla extract.
Turmeric powder is a natural way to get that iconic yellow color. But feel free to use yellow food color instead.
Please see the recipe card for full information about ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pineapple Buns
Tangzhong paste
- Make the Tangzhong paste - Combine the flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook this mixture on low heat, whisking continuously till you get a thickish paste. Transfer the paste into a bowl and keep aside to cool. This will thicken more as it cools.
Dough
- Whisk together the sugar, milk, and yeast in a small bowl. Keep in a draft-free place for 10-15 minutes until it's frothy.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, salt, condensed milk, egg, melted butter, tangzhong, and the yeast mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Mix the dough, using the dough hook, on low for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Turn it out on your work surface and knead for 2 minutes. Place it in a well-greased bowl, cover with a wet kitchen cloth, and let it rest till it doubles in size.
Topping
- Beat together the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and turmeric and add to the butter mixture.
- Bring the dough together using your hands. Kneading it very briefly, just 1-2 minutes, till you get a smooth dough.
- Cover and keep aside for later use.
Shape The Dough
- When your dough has doubled in volume, take it out of the bowl and gently deflate it.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal balls and place on a tray.
- Cover and let them double in size.
Bake The Buns
- While the buns are proofing, make the topping discs.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
- Use your palms to shape each portion into a ball. Place it between two sheets of wax or parchment paper and roll out each portion into a flat disc.
- Carefully drape each disc onto the buns. Make sure the bottom of the topping doesn't touch the tray.
Bake The Pineapple Buns
Brush it with egg wash and bake at 190 C for 15-17 minutes, until the topping is burnished yellow. Let the buns cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Serve warm!
Pro Tips
- Have all the ingredients laid out beforehand. It makes following the recipe so much simpler.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the pineapple bun ingredients. Baking any bread is much easier when everything is precise.
- If your yeast doesn’t froth in 5 to 10 minutes, it means the yeast has expired, or your milk was too hot.
- Don’t rush or skip the tangzhong. This simple flour-and-water paste is what gives the buns their cloud-like texture.
- Make sure the size of the topping disc is smaller than the bun because the topping expands as it bakes.
How To Serve
Hands down, pineapple buns are best the day they’re made. Warm, fresh from the oven, mildly sweet, with a crunchy crown and soft center. They’re as buttery and golden as my soft and pillowy eggless brioche and condensed milk rolls!
Traditionally, they’re served warm with a slice of butter tucked inside. The heat melts the butter instantly, and honestly? It’s heavenly.
We love them with cups of tea spiced with homemade chai masala, but they’re also wonderful with coffee. You can even add a little strawberry chia jam if you like a sweeter bite.
Recipe FAQs
A pineapple bun is a classic Chinese bakery bread. Known as Bo Lo Bao in Cantonese, these are a staple of Hong Kong food culture. They are so iconic that they've actually been listed as a piece of "intangible cultural heritage"! They are essentially a soft bread roll with a crumbly, sugary, crackly crust on top.
Commonly made during the Chinese New Year, the crusts of these buns look like pineapple skin. The color and sweetness also add to the illusion.
This Chinese pineapple bun recipe does not contain any fruit. So, no, these buns don’t taste like pineapple. They’re lightly sweet and buttery with a crunchy topping.
These buns are best the day they are baked. But they do keep well for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
To reheat, just pop them in the microwave for 25-30 seconds.
More Delicious Bread Rolls
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead and drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love these pineapple buns as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Pineapple Bun Recipe
Ingredients
Tangzhong Paste
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Water
Bun Dough
- 4.9 oz Milk, lukewarm
- 2 1/4 tsp Dried active yeast
- 1.5 tbsp Sugar
- 4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Condensed milk
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Butter, melted
Topping
- 1/4 cup Butter, softened
- 2/3 cup Caster sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 tbsp Milk, lukewarm
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Egg Wash
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Milk
Instructions
Tangzhong Paste
- Combine the flour and water in a small saucepan.2 tbsp All-purpose flour, 1/4 cup Water
- Cook this mixture on low heat, whisking continuously till you get a thickish paste. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the paste into a bowl and keep aside to cool. This will thicken more as it cools.
Bun Dough
- Whisk together the sugar, milk, and yeast in a small bowl. Keep in a draft-free place for 10-15 minutes until frothy.4.9 oz Milk, lukewarm, 2 1/4 tsp Dried active yeast, 1.5 tbsp Sugar
- Combine the all-purpose flour, salt, condensed milk, egg, melted butter, tangzhong, and the yeast mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer. 4 cup All-purpose flour, 1 tsp Salt, 1/4 cup Condensed milk, 1 Egg, 1/4 cup Butter, melted
- Mix the dough, using the dough hook, on low for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.You can certainly knead the dough with your hands. It will take a bit longer - 10-12 minutes.
- Turn it out on your work surface and knead for 2 minutes. Place it in a well-greased bowl, cover with a wet kitchen cloth, and let it rest till it doubles in size.
Topping
- While the dough for the buns is resting, make the dough for topping.
- Beat together the butter and sugar.1/4 cup Butter, softened, 2/3 cup Caster sugar
- Add the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract.1 Egg yolk, 1 tbsp Milk, lukewarm,1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and turmeric and add to the butter mixture.1 cup All-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp Baking powder,1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- Bring the dough together using your hands. Kneading it very briefly, just 1-2 minutes, till you get a smooth dough.
- Cover and keep aside for later use.
- When your bun dough has doubled in volume, take it out of the bowl and punch it down.
- Knead to get rid of any surplus trapped air. Then divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place each ball on a lined baking tray.
- Once more, cover with a kitchen towel and then let them rise to 1.5x their original size.
- Preheat your oven to 190 C / 375 F.
- While the buns are proofing, make the topping discs.
- Split the dough into 12 equal portions.
- Use your palms to shape each portion into a ball and then place it between two sheets of wax paper (or you can use two plastic sheets).
- Roll out each portion into a flat disc. Make sure the size of the disc is smaller than the bun.
- Carefully drape each disc onto the buns. Make sure the bottom of the topping doesn't touch the tray, it will burn!
- Brush it with egg wash and bake at 190 C / 375 F for 15-17 minutes, until the topping is burnished yellow. Let the buns cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Serve warm, fresh out of the oven, and enjoy!
Egg wash
- Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl.1 Egg, 1 tbsp Milk
Notes
- Have all the ingredients laid out beforehand. It makes following the recipe so much simpler.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the pineapple bun ingredients. Baking any bread is much easier when everything is precise.
- If your yeast doesn’t froth in 5 to 10 minutes, it means the yeast has expired, or your milk was too hot.
- Don’t rush or skip the tangzhong. This simple flour-and-water paste is what gives the buns their cloud-like texture.
- Make sure the size of the topping disc is smaller than the bun because the topping expands as it bakes.
- This recipe has been adapted from Healthy Nibbles by Lisa Lin
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