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Taiwanese milk butter bun with crumb topping.
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5 from 4 votes

Taiwanese Milk Butter Buns (奶酥麵包)

These pillowy milk buns filled with sweet, rich and creamy milk butter are some of the most popular items in Taiwanese bakeries. Give this a try and you'll understand why!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Proofing Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Course: Bread and bun
Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese
Servings: 8 buns
Calories: 374kcal
Author: Edwina

Ingredients

Tangzhong (Yudane)

  • 30 g boiling water 2 tbsp
  • 25 g bread flour 2½ tbsp

Milk Bun Dough

  • 250 g bread flour 2 cup
  • 30 g cake flour ¼ cup
  • 10 g dry milk powder 1 tbsp
  • 30 g sugar 2 tbsp
  • 15 g honey a little bit less than 1 tbsp
  • 25 g large egg, beaten ½ large egg, ⅛ cup, save the rest for making cookie top
  • 80 g cold whole milk ⅓ cup
  • 60 g cold water ¼ cup
  • all tangzhong (Yudane) paste
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast preferably saf instant yeast
  • 4 g sea salt ½ tsp
  • 30 g unsalted butter cut into 6 - 8 pieces

Crumb Topping

  • 25 g unsalted butter slightly less than 2 tbsp, softened
  • 20 g sugar 1½ tbsp
  • 40 g bread flour ⅓ cup

Milk Butter

  • 65 g unsalted butter 4½ tablespoon
  • 40 g powdered sugar ⅓ cup
  • 30 g heavy whipping cream 2 tbsp
  • 65 g dry milk powder ½ cup

Egg Wash

  • leftover beaten egg
  • 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

Make Tangzhong (Yudane) the Night Before

  • Measure 25 grams of bread flour in a bowl. Set the kitchen scale to zero with the flour and bowl on it and pour in 30 grams of boiling water. Stir until combined to form a sticky dough.
  • Let it cool down before storing in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours. Use it within 48 hours.

Milk Bun Dough

  • In a stand mixer, mix all the dough ingredients except yeast, sea salt and unsalted butter until a rough dough is formed. Cover and and let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • After resting, add yeast and knead for 1-2 minutes on medium speed before adding salt. Knead for another 2-3 minutes before adding unsalted butter, one piece at a time.
  • Knead until the dough is smooth and able to pass the windowpane test (see FAQ for more details). About 8-10 minutes. Make sure the dough stays cool during the entire kneading process. If the temperature of your dough becomes higher than 82°F (28°C) when it's done kneading, place it on a tray and chill it in the freezer for 1-2 minutes before proofing.
  • Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and proof in a warm place (82°F / 28°C) for an hour or until the dough just about doubles in size.

Make Crumb Topping and Milk Butter While the Dough is Proofing.

  • To make the crumb topping, mix softened unsalted butter, sugar and bread flour together with your finger tips until well combined. Cover and store it in the fridge.
  • To make milk butter, cream unsalted butter with sugar together until smooth before stirring in milk powder and heavy whipping cream. Cover and leave it at room temperature until it's ready to use.

Assemble the Buns

  • Divide the dough into 8 equal portions with dough cutter (don't tear it!)
  • Flatten the dough with your palm before folding the edges to the center, pinch them together to form a ball and flip it over so the seam side is down. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.
  • To form the bun, dust the working surface with a bit of flour, roll the dough ball into a rectangle that's about the size of your hand.
  • Spread about 25g of milk butter on the dough. Fold ⅓ of the dough from the side to the middle, then fold in the same direction again (See the pictures and video in the post to see how I form the buns.).
  • Cut two lines in the middle of the dough length-wise and twist it two times before curling it up like a snail shell and stick the end into the bottom.
  • Place the buns on a lined baking sheet, cover with a damp tea towel and let it proof in a warm place (82°F / 28°C) for 50 minutes.

Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Brush each bun with egg wash gently and sprinkle the crumb on top of the buns.
  • When the oven is done preheating, bake the buns for 14-15 minutes.
  • Let the buns cool on the cooling rack for 10-15 minutes before enjoying.

Video

Notes

  • Measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale! Especially for flour and liquids, because your one cup can be very different from my one cup.
  • Start with cold liquid - I learned this from professional bakers in Taiwan. Since the dough needs a lot of kneading, using cold liquid prevents the final dough from becoming too warm (which negatively impacts the texture of the bun). In summer, I would even place the milk in a freezer until a thin layer of ice forms near the edge before I use it.
  • The best proofing temperature is between 80 - 90°F (26.5 - 32°C). If your indoor temperature is too low, you can proof your dough in a sealed oven over a separate tray/pan on the bottom rack that's filled with boiling water.
  • If your oven has a proofing function, for the first proof, only turn it on for the first 20 minutes instead of using it for the whole time so the temperature won't be too high. For the second proof, you can turn on the whole time as we need higher temperature for second proof.
  • The buns might not be golden brown when it's done baking due to the crumb topping. If your oven has a convection bake function, you can turn it on for the last 1-2 minutes to help the buns achieve a golden brown color.
  • Read the FAQs section for more information. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bun | Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 257mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 668IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 146mg | Iron: 1mg