Spiral Purple Sweet Potato & Almond Milk Mantou (Chinese Steamed Buns Recipe) - All Purpose Veggies (2024)

Cook purple sweet potatoes, either by steaming them for 30-40 minutes on the steamer or by microwaving them until tender. Here's the shortcut microwave method post for reference!

Mash the purple sweet potatoes while still warm using a fork.

Mix all the dry ingredients (bread flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder) in the bowl of the stand mixer.

Add the mashed sweet potato , water and the apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients

Start to knead the dough at a low setting (speed 2) for about a minute, until all the ingredients are mostly combined.

Add the olive oil next, and continue to knead for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth, supple ball.

Remove the finished dough from the mixer bowl and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Set aside and let rise for 60-90 minutes until doubled in size.

Note: the dough will appear grayish, but the purple color will come back once the steamed buns are heated.

Now prepare the almond milk dough. First by mixing the dry ingredients in the stand mixer, then adding almond milk, kneading 1-2 minutes until the ingredients are mostly incorporated.

Add the olive oil next, and continue to knead for about 10-15 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth, supple ball.

Remove the finished dough from the mixer bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl.

Use a rolling pin to flatten each of the dough into a large rectangle, about 18 x 10 inches in size

Place the rolled out almond milk dough on top of the purple sweet potato dough

Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a tight cylinder (like a sushi roll or cinnamon roll). Pinch the ends to seal.

Use a dental floss or a sharp serrated knife to divide the log into 12-16 equal pieces, and place on a piece of parchment square, or a sheet of steamer paper.

Transfer the buns to the steaming pan and steam the buns for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Purple Sweet Potato Steamed Buns Bread Dough

• 2 cups bread flour 240 g, sifted and leveled*
• ½ tsp instant yeast
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar read notes** for substitutes
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ⅔ cup mashed sweet potato 151 g , about 1 medium cooked sweet potatoes***
• ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp water
• ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar (to preserve the purple sweet potatoes color)
• ½ Tbsp light olive oil or melted coconut oil or avocado oil

Basic Almond Milk Steamed Buns Bread Dough

• 2 cups bread flour 240 g, sifted and leveled*
• ½ tsp instant yeast
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar read notes** for substitutes
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ⅔ cups unsweetened almond milk 160 g, warmed to room temperature. I used unsweetened original
• ½ Tbsp light olive oil or melted coconut oil or avocado oil

• Prepare 2 separate dough recipes (1)PURPLE SWEET POTATO STEAMED BUNS and (2) ALMOND MILK STEAMED BUNS

Dough 1

• Mix the dry ingredients for the sweet potato dough (bread flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder ) in a medium mixing bowl.

• Stir in the apple cider vinegar to the water, and add to the dry ingredients - along with the mashed purple sweet potatoes.

• Use your hands and knead the dough for about a minute, until all the ingredients are mostly combined.

• Add the olive oil next, and continue to knead for about 10-15 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth, supple ball.

• Note: Additional 1-2 Tablespoons of water (or additional bread flour) may be necessary depending on the protein content of the flour, the water content in the sweet potatoes, as well as the humidity and temperature of the kitchen.

• Cover and set aside.

Dough 2

• Mix the dry ingredients for the almond milk dough (bread flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder ) in a clean medium mixing bowl.

• Pour almond milk into the dry ingredients.

• Use your hands and knead the dough for about a minute, until all the ingredients are mostly combined.

• Add the olive oil next, and continue to knead for about 10-15 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth, supple ball.

• Note: Additional 1-2 Tablespoons of almond milk (or additional bread flour) may be necessary depending on the protein content of the flour, as well as the humidity and temperature of the kitchen.

• Remove the finished dough from the mixer bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl.

• Cover and let rise until doubled, about 60-90 minutes***

Shaping and Steaming the Dough

• Use a rolling pin to flatten each of the dough into a large rectangle, about 18 x 10 inches in size

• Place the rolled out almond milk dough on top of the purple sweet potato dough

• Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a tight cylinder (like a sushi roll or cinnamon roll). Pinch the ends to seal.

• Use a dental floss or a sharp serrated knife to divide the log into 12-16 equal pieces

• Place on a piece of parchment square, or a sheet of steamer paper.

• Let rise for 20-30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, boil water and prepare the steamer

• Transfer the buns to the steaming pan and steam the buns for 15 minutes

• Enjoy!

*Weigh your flour for the best results. 1 cup of bread flour = 120 grams / 4.23 oz

**You can use regular granulated white sugar, raw cane sugar, brown sugar or coconut sugar in this recipe, but for yeasted breads, I would not recommend using sugar-free substitutes such as monk fruit sweetener or stevia powder since they can cause the bread to not rise properly.

***I used 151 g of mashed purple sweet potato which was about 1 medium purple sweet potato, but the weight-volume ratio could vary depending on the season, the variety of the sweet potato, etc. You'll need to adjust the dough by adding more flour or more water to the dough while mixing. Keep in mind if substituting that orange sweet potatoes have more water than Asian sweet potato varieties, so you'll need to add LESS water.

****It's best if the bowl is put in a warm place, for example, inside an oven that's been preheated for just a quick 10 seconds and spritzed with some water. Or, inside a microwave with a cup filled with hot water.