Golden Pineapple Buns #BreadBakers

A bakery staple in Chinatowns worldwide, golden pineapple buns are a real treat. The soft sweet bread features a topping that bakes up crisp and light. As an added bonus, some contain sweet fillings, like these made with my easy pineapple jam.

This month’s Bread Bakers host, my friend Felice from All That’s Left Are the Crumbs set us a theme of “good luck breads” and I knew I would find a few choices in typical Chinese or Lunar New Year menus online. Indeed, since gold is a color of prosperity, golden pineapple buns showed up in many.

Also known as bolo bao or bo lo baau, pineapple buns appear to originate from Hong Kong but they are also very popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well. For all the many years we lived in those three places – a combined 12 years! – I never actually tried a pineapple bun. I loved the Chinese bakeries but would typically opt for a sausage bun or another savory option.

Historically, the pineapple is also a symbol of wealth and hospitality. What is more welcoming than a warm bun that is named because it looks like a pineapple? I’ll tell you.

It’s one that is also filled with pineapple jam.

Several recipes said these buns could authentically be filled with red bead paste or custard but most are not filled at all. I, on the other hand, thought they cried out for pineapple jam. Why should they be pineapple in name and looks only? Beauty is more than skin deep and their outer beauty should be echoed and enhanced by an inner pineapple-y sweetness, don’t you think?

And when I checked it out, I got a mention in Wikipedia. Non-native speaker. That's me.

Golden Pineapple Buns

Like all good yeast breads, these guys take a while to make because of rising time. Also, there are three parts: the dough, the topping and the filling, if you choose to fill them. I suggest making my easy pineapple jam but you can also use your favorite store-bought jam of any flavor. Or don’t fill them at all. Either way, they are totally worth the time. My bun recipe is adapted from these two: The Woks of Life and China Sichuan Food. The pineapple jam is all me. I love making quick jam.

Ingredients for 6 large buns
For the bread dough:
1/3 cup or 78ml heavy cream
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg (at room temperature)
2 1/2 cups or 317g strong white bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt

For the topping paste:
2/3 cup or 83g all-purpose flour
1/3 cup or 66g caster sugar
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 small egg yolk
⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
4-6 teaspoons milk

For the filling:
6 generous tablespoons thick pineapple jam, homemade or store-bought
(It’s super easy to make. For homemade my instructions are here.)

For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

Method
Warm your cream and milk to between 105-110°F or 40.5-43°C in a small pot over a low fire or in the microwave. Add in 1 tablespoon of the sugar for the dough and the yeast. Set aside for a few minutes to make sure your yeast is active.

Pour the foamy liquid into the bowl of your mixer and add the rest of the sugar, egg, flour and salt.

Using your bread hook, combine the ingredients and continue mixing for about 15 minutes, scraping the bowl down occasionally to make sure all of the flour is being incorporated.

This is a very soft dough.

After 15 minutes, cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour.

If your kitchen is cold, set the bowl in your sink and fill it part way up with warm water. Leave to prove for about 1 hour by which time the dough should double in size.

When the initial rise time for the bread dough is up, put it back in the mixer and use your bread hook to knead it for 5 minutes to beat it back down to original size and make it more manageable and less sticky.

Lightly flour a clean work surface and tip your dough out of the bowl. With floury hands, knead it briefly. Cut it into 6 equal pieces (mine were about 100g each) and roll them into small balls.

If you aren’t filling your pineapple buns, transfer them to your baking pan, sprinkle with some flour and cover with a clean dry towel. Set aside to rise for 1 hour.

If you are filling them, use a floured rolling pin to roll each ball out into a 6 in or 15cm circle. Brush with water. Add 1 tablespoon of pineapple jam to the middle. (By the way, that gorgeous yellow is all natural!)

Pull the sides in, pinching gently to close the dough, making a ball again. Place pinched side down on your baking pan.

Continue until all buns are filled. Sprinkle with flour and cover with a clean dry towel. Set aside to rise for 1 hour.

While the buns are rising, use a food processor to make the topping.

Add the dry milk powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and superfine sugar to the food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the shortening, egg yolk, and vanilla.

Pulse till it looks like big grains.

Add the milk starting with just 1 tablespoon. Pulse until it just comes together as a dough, adding a teaspoon or two more milk as needed.

Give the crumbs a squeeze to see if they’ll hang together. If they do, no more milk is needed.

Tip the topping crumbs out on to a piece of cling film and push them together to create a dough. Cover tightly with the cling film. Place in refrigerator for around 30 minutes until slightly chilled.

When the buns are done rising, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Form the topping dough into a rectangle in the cling film so that it’s easier to cut into six equal pieces.

Roll them into balls. Lay a large sheet of cling film out and place the ball on one half. Fold the other half over. Use a rolling pin to roll a topping ball into a circle the size of the tops of your risen buns.

Unfold the cling film and place the topping circle on a bun. Carefully remove the cling film.

Use the tip of a sharp knife to gently score the topping in a diamond pattern. Continue until the buns have been covered and scored.

Whisk the egg yolk with the water and brush the egg wash onto each bun. Bake in your preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking pan for a few minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lucky breads we have for you today! Many thanks to our Bread Bakers host, Felice from All That’s Left Are the Crumbs.

• Buttermilk Cornbread from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Cloverleaf Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
• Coriander Garlic Four Leaf Clover Bread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Four Leaf Clover Good Luck Rolls from Cook With Renu
• Golden Pineapple Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Grosse Neujahrs-Breze from All that's Left Are The Crumbs
• Honey Butter Cloverleaf Rolls from Ambrosia
• Irish Barmbrack from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Jewish Challah from Veena's Veg Nation
• Three King's Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lucky Horseshoe Shaped Stuffed Bread from The Mad Scientist's Kitchen
• Steamed Piglet Buns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Vasilopita from Anybodycanbake

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Golden Pineapple Buns!

 .