Pineapple Bun Recipe -

A red platter stacked with pineapple buns.

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Pineapple Bun Recipe

This pineapple bun recipe shows you how to make soft, fluffy buns with a golden, crunchy, sweet topping using simple pantry ingredients. Easy to follow and perfect for breakfast, tea time, or snacking.

Prep Time2 30

Cook Time15

Course: Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: Buns

Calories: 362kcal

Author: Natasha Minocha

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

US Customary - Metric

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

Nutrition