Buns & Bread

Pineapple Buns (Bo Lo Bao)

Pillowy milk-bread buns crowned with a sweet, crackly cookie top — the bo lo bao that has no pineapple in it at all, just the smell of the bakery I love.

Pineapple Buns (Bo Lo Bao)

Everybody who grew up going to Chinese bakeries knows the small betrayal of learning that bo lo bao has no pineapple in it. The name comes from the crackly golden topping that bakes up looking like a pineapple's rind — a sweet cookie crust over the softest, fluffiest bun. Split one open warm, tuck in a cold slab of butter until it melts, and you have the thing I would happily eat every morning of my life.

Making them at home meant conquering two doughs at once. The bun is a tangzhong milk bread — soft, feathery, and stays fresh longer thanks to that cooked flour paste. The topping is a simple cookie dough that has to be soft enough to drape over the buns but firm enough to crack in the oven. My first batch had toppings that slid right off and pooled onto the tray. Chilling the cookie dough and pressing it on just before baking fixed that.

The tangzhong step looked fussy the first time, but it is nothing more than cooking a bit of flour and milk into a pudding-like paste. It is the secret behind that cottony, tear-apart softness that ordinary bread rolls never quite reach.

When these come out — golden crackle on top, cloud underneath, the whole kitchen smelling like Sunday morning at the bakery — I feel like I have brought a little piece of Hong Kong home to Vancouver.

Ingredients

  • **For the tangzhong:**
  • 20g bread flour
  • 100ml water
  • **For the dough:**
  • 350g bread flour
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • 5g (1 1/2 tsp) instant yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 120ml warm milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 40g butter, softened
  • **For the cookie topping:**
  • 60g butter, softened
  • 60g icing sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 110g all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp water, for brushing

Method

  1. Make the tangzhong: Whisk the 20g bread flour and 100ml water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a smooth paste and lines appear when you drag the whisk (about 65°C). Scrape into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

  2. Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the warm milk, egg, and the cooled tangzhong. Mix into a shaggy dough, then knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. Add the softened butter and knead another 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, elastic, and passes a rough windowpane test.

  3. First rise: Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled.

  4. Make the topping while the dough rises: Beat the softened butter and icing sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix into a soft cookie dough. Shape into a log, wrap, and chill.

  5. Shape the buns: Punch down the dough and divide into 9 equal pieces. Roll each into a tight ball and place on a parchment-lined tray, spaced apart. Cover and let rise 40 to 50 minutes until puffy.

  6. Top the buns: Divide the chilled cookie dough into 9 pieces. Roll or press each between parchment into a thin round. Drape one over each risen bun, covering the top and shoulders. Brush the topping with the egg yolk wash. Score a criss-cross pattern lightly with a knife for the classic pineapple crackle.

  7. Bake: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake for 13 to 16 minutes until the tops are golden and cracked and the buns sound hollow when tapped underneath.

  8. Cool briefly on a rack and eat warm — ideally split with a cold pat of butter tucked inside.

Tips & Swaps

  • The tangzhong is what makes these buns so soft and keeps them fresh for days. Do not skip it, and let it cool before adding it to the dough.
  • Knead until the dough passes a windowpane test — stretched thin enough to see light through without tearing. This gives that feathery, tear-apart crumb.
  • Keep the cookie topping chilled and firm. Warm, soft topping slides off the buns as they bake.
  • Roll the topping slightly larger than the top of the bun so it drapes over the shoulders — it spreads and cracks beautifully as it bakes.
  • Best the day they are baked. To revive day-old buns, warm them for a few minutes in a low oven to bring back the soft crumb and crisp top.