These buns are naturally green, and I love that. For this bun, it only requires one-time fermentation, making the process simpler and quicker.
About the spinach buns
Spinach is widely used in Chinese cooking. You can see it in salads, stir-fries, and even used to color dough, like in green dumplings. In today’s recipe, I use spinach to create beautiful green buns.
Today’s spinach buns turned out incredibly fluffy. My daughter loves to peel off the bun’s skin and eat it separately. I didn’t use any filling for these buns, but you can add fillings such as the popular red bean paste if you like.
The secret to maintaining the vibrant green color of the spinach is baking soda. I use baking soda twice: first when blanching the spinach, and then again after blending the spinach juice.
Ingredients:
For Spinach juice:
- 2g baking soda
- 100g spinach leaves
For the Dough:
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 20g sugar
- 3g yeast
- 165g spinach juice
- 5g vegetable oil
- 1g baking soda
Instructions:
Make the Spinach juice
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 2g of baking soda. This addition is key to preserving the vibrant green color of the spinach.
Blanch 100g of spinach leaves in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Quickly remove them and place them in cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve the color.
In a blender, add 100g of water and the blanched spinach. Blend until smooth to make spinach juice. For an even brighter green color, add 1g of baking soda to the blended spinach juice. Mix thoroughly.
Make the Dough
In a bowl, combine 300g of flour, 20g of sugar, 3g of yeast, 165g of spinach juice, and 5g of vegetable oil. Mix well until the ingredients form a dough.
Use the rubbing clothes method to knead the dough: press the dough with one hand while continuously kneading with the other hand until it becomes smooth. This technique involves manipulating the dough similar to kneading or rubbing fabric.
Shape the Dough
Roll the dough into a long strip and divide it into 68g portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then use both hands to shape each ball into a cylindrical shape.
Place the shaped buns in a steamer lined with parchment paper.
Fermentation
Allow the buns to ferment for about 30-45 minutes until they expand to 1.5 times their original size. When you gently press them, they should bounce back.
Steam the Buns
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the steamer over the boiling water and steam the buns over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
How to Make Spinach Buns
Ingredients
For Spinach juice:
- 2 g baking soda
- 100 g spinach leaves
For the Dough:
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 20 g sugar
- 3 g yeast
- 165 g spinach juice
- 5 g vegetable oil
- 1 g baking soda
Instructions
Make the Spinach juice
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 2g of baking soda. This addition is key to preserving the vibrant green color of the spinach.
- Blanch 100g of spinach leaves in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Quickly remove them and place them in cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve the color.
- In a blender, add 100g of water and the blanched spinach. Blend until smooth to make spinach juice. For an even brighter green color, add 1g of baking soda to the blended spinach juice. Mix thoroughly.
Make the Dough
- In a bowl, combine 300g of flour, 20g of sugar, 3g of yeast, 165g of spinach juice, and 5g of vegetable oil. Mix well until the ingredients form a dough. Use the folding method to knead the dough: press the dough with one hand while continuously kneading with the other hand until it becomes smooth.
Shape the Dough
- Roll the dough into a long strip and divide it into 68g portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then use both hands to shape each ball into a cylindrical shape.
- Place the shaped buns in a steamer lined with parchment paper.
Fermentation
- Allow the buns to ferment for about 30-45 minutes until they expand to 1.5 times their original size. When you gently press them, they should bounce back.
Steam the Buns
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the steamer over the boiling water and steam the buns over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
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