Sourdough Pineapple Buns (Vegan)

The Iconic Hong Kong Buns 🍞

Being born and raised in Hong Kong, I grew up with eating lots of pineapple buns. Despite having the word “pineapple” in its name, pineapple buns (aka Bolo Bao) don’t contain any pineapple and also don’t taste like pineapple at all. They are named this way due to their golden brown checker-patterned crust which resemble the appearance of a pineapple. If scone is a must-have afternoon tea treat for the British, then pineapple bun is our version of scones. You can find these unique looking buns in any traditional bakeries and cha chaan tengs (aka Hong Kong style cafes). We love serving these pineapple buns with a thick slab of butter stuffed in the middle. Sounds so tempting right?

Veganizing The Recipe 🌱

Traditional pineapple buns are made with eggs, butter and milk, which are definitely not vegan-friendly. As much as I enjoy these sweet buns for afternoon tea, I have to say goodbye to them since I turned vegan 11 years ago. And although veganism has gained more and more popularity here in Hong Kong, vegan options for traditional food (especially baked goods) are still scarce. However, as I become more confident in baking, I decided to experiment with making vegan versions of pineapple buns.

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Yudane Method 💦

These super pineapple buns have the texture that resemble most Japanese bread – super soft and fluffy. As I learned more about sourdough baking over the past year, I came across the Yudane Method. Yudane method is the secret to make a soft and fluffy Japanese style bread. In order to bake using this method, you simply mix an equal portion of flour and boiling water. The effect of adding boiling water to flour is that it gelatinises the starch. The gelatinised starch will allow the starch to absorb more water, and thus enhancing the sweetness of the bread.

Yudane method is in fact similar to the Tangzhong method I used in my sourdough milk bread recipe. Unlike the 1:1 flour-to-water ratio in Yudane method, the Tangzhong mixture is made by heating up a mixture of flour and water in the ratio of 1:5 to 65°C.

For more sourdough recipe using Yudane method, check out my the following recipes:

• Super Soft Sourdough Rolls
• Vegan Sourdough Shokupan (aka Japanese Milk Bread)
• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Sourdough Double Chocolate Babka Rolls
• Vegan Sourdough Challah
• Sourdough Blueberry Rolls
• Chocolate Cinnamon Roll Challah
• Japanese Sourdough Butter Rolls
• Matcha Babkallah With Red Bean Paste
• Matcha Black Sesame Sourdough Babka

Stiff Levain

In this recipe, I used a 40% hydration lievito madre as the stiff levain. The main reason of using stiff levain in this recipe is to reduce the sourness in the bread. You can of course convert your 100% hydration sourdough starter to a 40% hydration starter if you don’t have lievito madre. You can learn how to convert your starter by following this recipe. If you are using lievito madre, remember to refresh at least 3 times (4 hours apart) before using it. You will need 150g of lievito madre for this recipe.