Gai Mei Bao | Chinese Cocktail Buns | Chinese Coconut Buns

Gai mei bao or Chinese Cocktail buns, Hong Kong-style sweet bun filled with shredded coconut. It is one of several iconic types of baked goods originating from Hong Kong.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 1 45

Bake Time 25

Total Time 2 20

Servings people

Calories 374kcal

Equipment

Measuring cups and spoons
Convection oven
Sheet pan or a large aluminum takeaway container for baking the buns
Food Processor for making the bread dough optional

Ingredients

For the Bread Dough

1 cup warm milk
¼ cup sugar
2 cups bread flour
1 ½ tablespoon corn-starch
1 teaspoon instant yeast
¾ teaspoon salt

For the Filling

50 grams butter soft at room temperature
1 ½ tablespoon caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon milk powder
⅓ cup fresh grated coconut
3 tablespoon tutti frutti optional, not included in the original recipe

For the Topping

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling

For the Glaze

1 tablespoon honey mixed with 1 teaspoon of warm water

Instructions

Lets Make the Dough

I used my food processor to knead the dough. Take flour, corn starch, yeast, sugar and salt in the processor bowl. Run it for a minute for the ingredients to mix well. 2 cups bread flour
To this flour mix, add warm milk in batches and knead a soft and smooth dough. You might not require all of the milk, there might be 1 or 2 tablespoon milk leftover after kneading the dough1 cup warm milk
It is a pretty easy dough to knead. The dough will be little sticky to touch, but doesn't stick to the processor bowl. Remove the dough to a well oiled bowl. let it sit for an hour or until it doubles in size.

Make the filling

While the dough is resting, let us make the filling. Mix all the ingredients given under filling in a bowl and keep aside until use. 50 grams butter

Let's Shape the dough

Once the dough doubles, remove it on to the working surface, dust the area with flour. Punch down the extra air, knead the dough for a couple of minutes and divide into 6 equal portions.
Working on one portion at a time, Roll out each portion into a oval disc, place a tablespoon of filling in the center, bring the edges together like a sail of a ship, and tuck the top ends on top of it and shape it to a oval shaped bread.
Take care not to stuff much and seal the edges properly. If not done well, the butter might ooze out of the filling and your buns will be floating on a buttery puddle! :)

Let's Proof and Bake

Let the shaped buns rest, covered, for another 45 minutes. Brush the tops of the bun with milk and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling
Preheatthe oven to 190C and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Once done, remove the buns on to a wire rack, brush the hot buns with honey glaze and let it cool. 1 tablespoon honey mixed with 1 teaspoon of warm water
Serve it warm along with tea or as snack. We had it as snack and i packed some for my elder one breakfast the next day too

Notes

I made the dough the previous night, proofed it for an hour and then couldn't bake it immediately, so i refrigerated the dough and baked it next day morning.
If doing so, remove the dough from refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking.

Nutrition