Arkensen and Nanzaro love Pineapple Bun, particularly from Lido Restaurant. I got this Pineapple Bun recipe from Helen. Helen has not attempt to make it because the recipe is in grams and cc which is a bit tedious to measure. Morever, Helen said it involves quite a bit of steps which seem quite complicated to her. Anyway, this is my first attempt making it and it turned out quite ok.
The Pineapple Bun (or Polo Bun) turned out quite soft and I think the dough recipe is good for any other bun. The bun remains soft even after two days.
Now, I know why it’s called Pineapple Bun. The name came from the look of the topping which resembles the pineapple skin.
It took me quite long to make it as I was trying to convert the measuring into cups and spoons as far as possible so that it’s easier for me to make it again.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 240g bread flour (2 cups less 3 tablespoons), I used all-purpose flour
- 60g cake flour (8 tablespoons)
- 45g sugar (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon)
- 5g yeast (1 1/2 teaspoons)
- 30cc or 30ml egg (1 medium egg)
- 135g water (125ml)
- 3g salt (1/2 teaspoon)
- 9g milk powder (2 tablespoons)
- 30cc or 30ml warm water
- 45g butter (3 tablespoons)
Topping:
- 80g butter (6 tablespoons)
- 50cc or 50ml egg
- 1 g salt (a pinch)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50g icing sugar (1/2 cup)
- 5g milk powder (1 tablespoon)
- 150g cake flour (1 1/4 cups)
- another egg for egg wash
Click on the link below for the instructions.
Instructions
 Proof the yeast in the 30cc warm water with a teaspoon of the sugar until it’s foamy in the bread machine. I ignored this step as I’m quite puzzle with the use of the 30cc of warm water in the recipe.
I just place the dough ingredients in the bread machine according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, excluding the 30cc of warm water for proofing the yeast. According to my bread machine’s recommendation, the yeast is the last item to go into the bread machine. I used instant dry yeast. Set to dough and start the machine. It takes about two hours for the dough cycle to complete. |
 The dough is not too sticky and very soft. Divide the dough into 14 pieces and place two parchment lined baking sheet.Let stand for 15 minutes. |
 Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Blend the butter and icing sugar together. Butter must be at room temperature.
Add in salt, milk powder and vanilla, mix well. |
 Add in the beaten in two times, mix well after each addition.
Fold in the flour with a spatula. |
 This is a very sticky dough. Refrigerate it if it’s too sticky and soft to handle. Divide it into 14 pieces. |
 On a floured hand, flatten the topping and place it on top of the bread dough.
Use a sharp knife to lightly score the the topping. This will create the pineapple skin effect. Let stand for 40 to 50 minutes. I had to warn you on this. At the end of the rising, some of the topping will slide to the side. Gently move the very tender risen dough so that the topping remains on top, you know what I mean. I should have taken the lop sided bun pictures for illustration. |
 Egg wash the top and bake in a preheated 170C (325F) for 10 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 150C (300F) and bake for another 5 minutes.
Helen, thank you for sharing the recipe. |
Hi Suanne, Since Lido Restaurant always out of stock and long waiting for the next batch out, you can open a store next to it, good business.
You’re the best, so amazing to see the bun turn out so nice and must be yummy,yummy..
Pineapple buns are my favorite!
I don’t know if I can attempt actually making them at home. But I suspect making them at home is so much better than buying it. I’ll put it in our “to-do” list, hehe.
Is Lido’s buns sort of the best among the Chinese bakeries?
Looks great! Will have to try this out.
I’m a huge fan of Lido’s pineapple buns. Simply delicious.
Thanks Ben! I have always wanted to make pineapple buns. I am going to try making these this weekend. Do you have any recommendations on what to do if I do not have a bread making machine?
I love the Polo bun aka Pineapple bun 🙂
But I like mine with char siew filling (I guess that is a mutated version) 😛
Hi Art, I found this link which may be helpful to you: http://jodelibakery.netfirms.com/
Click on recipes, breads and then polo buns. Somehow, I cant get the link of the polo bun page.
Thanks Suanne! That’s great! Here is the link without the frames:
http://jodelibakery.netfirms.com/bread/polo%20buns/polo%20buns.htm
I love pineapple buns but haven’t made them before. This looks like a doable recipe (especially with the bread machine!)
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When I tried making this, I kept it a surprise, and when my family tried it, they guessed right away that it was pineapple bun. That was the good part, but the problem was the colour, my bun looked totally different than yours. My topping was dark, and not yellow at all like yours, and I think that it’s because of the vanilla extract. I’m gonna try using vanilla sugar next time. Or is milk powder mandatory too? I used skim milk(l) instead.
Hi Rawrlicious, using vanilla sugar is a good idea. I’m sure you can substitute the water and milk powder with milk itself.
Hi Suanne, is there any fillings in this bun?
Hi Raymond, you can fill the bun with your favourite filings. This recipe is just for the plain pineapple bun.
Do you know what ingredients go into the filling that appears to be a rough mixture of butter/margarine and sugar and occasionally raisin – ie) “custard”?
Hey,
Thanks for sharing the recipe! Really love the bun and it taste superlicious. hehe… Please share more recipes with us! I wanna learn more!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
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wow! thanks so much for your recipe! I love pineapple bun, but it seems like there has been a price inflation at Chinese bread stores. now I can eat them all the time! They really are delicious! =p Thanks again!
oh and I would also like to add that I didn’t have a bread maker. so I kneaded it myself and it still turned out fantastic!
is it possible to use normal milk instead of the powdered kind?
thanks for the recipe!
Hi Joanne, if you do not want to use milk powder, perhaps you can substitute the water with milk and add one or two tablespoons of flour during the kneading cycle of the bread machine if the dough looks too wet.
I’m totally a newbie on chowtimes but Suanne… your recipes make my heart go pitter patter. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this recipe out this weekend! Nearly no Chinese Restaurants (read: no worthwhile Chinese Restaurants) that I know of in the Richmond, VA vicinity and even fewer Chinese Bakeries (read: NONE!)
what if you don’t have bread machine
I tried this today and i must say, it does look exactly like the picture 🙂 I can agree that the bread is very soft and going by texture its similar to the ones you get at the store…i don’t have a bread machine, so i just used my electric mixer with a dough hook on low speed for less than 10 mins, then transferred it to a floured table top and finished the kneading by hand 🙂 thanks…
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My favorite one from Asian bakery.. along with the coconut filled one! Great step by step photos!
The bread dough ingredients are currently in my bread machine but they look very watery … 🙁
Just to clarify, I put in the yeast and warm water in the machine first then added the rest of the ingredients, correct?
Because my bread machine actaully said not to let the yeast touch the water.
Hi Char, I did not proof the yeast as the original recipe. I placed the ingredients into my bread machine according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, i.e. the yeast last. You can see from the photo that the yeast is on top. I may have to reword the instructions to make it clearer.
If you use instant yeast you can’t add last. If you use traditional (active dry) yeast, you have to add warm water to it first to activate it.
Bread machines recommend you not let the yeast touch the water because if you are using the timer then you don’t want the yeast to activate before the timer is set to go off. If you are making the bread right away, you don’t have to worry about it.
The dough just came out but it is quite watery, not dough-like.
What should i do? should i refrigerate it for a while and add some more flour?
I would try to add flour a little at a time and knead it manually until it’s manageable. The dough is actually very soft.
hi i was wondering what is a 50 cc egg?
Hi Phuong, cc is equivalent to ml.
Here is a handy egg size chart. (In Canada, a 50 ml egg is a “Medium” egg): http://www.getcracking.ca/sizesandsubstitutes.html
Correction: a 50ml egg is a “Large” egg.
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