Keep the Kitchen Cool with Steamed Breads – No Oven Required

🌟Highlights:

• Steam Your Way Through Summer Baking

• Steaming Without a Bamboo Steamer

• Tips for Preventing Dough from Sticking

• Steaming Troubleshooting

• Share Your Steamy Creations

Steam Your Way Through Summer Baking

Steamed bread is a centuries-old technique still beloved in kitchens from Asia to the Mediterranean. It’s been making a comeback among home bakers looking for lighter, more summer-friendly ways to create delicious bread.

Steam creates a uniquely tender crumb and allows the flavor of your ingredients to shine, all while preserving precious kitchen cool.

Fluffy Steamed Spinach Buns

These fluffy steamed spinach buns are ultra-soft, subtly sweet, and tinted green from garden-fresh spinach. Whether your spinach came from your backyard garden or a farmer’s market haul, this recipe is a wonderful way to showcase it. The dough is enriched with milk and a touch of sugar, then gently steamed in a bamboo steamer until it fluffs up into the softest bun you’ll ever meet.

Why you’ll like these steamed buns:

• No oven required - just a stovetop and bamboo steamer or colander.

• Uses up fresh spinach (gardeners rejoice!)

• Kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and beautiful to serve.

📎 Get the Recipe Here »

Sourdough Steamed Bao Buns with Einkorn

For a tangier twist, these sourdough bao buns bring together the best of fermentation and steam. Filled or plain, these buns offer a delightful chew with the signature tang of sourdough, and they’re just as oven-free and summer-perfect.

I made my Sourdough Steamed Bao Buns with Einkorn. The buns are easy to make and remind me of soft and fat taco shells. 

I filled mine with BBQ-pulled chicken, but the possibilities are endless for what you can use to fill them.

📎 Explore the Recipe »

Tips for Preventing Dough from Sticking

Steamed buns have a delicate surface, so sticking can easily ruin their shape. Try one of these tricks:

• Parchment Paper: Cut squares slightly larger than each bun and place the dough directly on top. This makes transferring them easy after steaming.

• Cabbage Leaves: Popular in Asian steaming, napa or savoy cabbage leaves act as natural liners, add moisture, and look beautiful when serving.

• Light Oil Spray: If you’re using reusable liners or a bare metal surface, a quick mist of neutral oil can help buns release without tearing.

Steaming Troubleshooting: Quick Fixes for Common Bun Woes

Even the softest, fluffiest steamed buns can misbehave sometimes. Here’s how to solve the most common problems so your next batch is bakery-beautiful.

Flat Buns After Steaming

• Over-proofing or letting buns proof too long can cause collapse after steaming. Shortening proof time, especially in warm weather, is recommended.

• Allowing buns to rest with the lid slightly ajar after steaming prevents rapid temperature drop, minimizing collapse.

• Kneading or folding dough properly ensures good gluten development, helping buns maintain shape.

Gummy Texture

• Condensation: When using metal or glass lids, wrap the steamer lid in a towel to stop droplets from falling on the buns, preventing sogginess. Use a clean, dry kitchen towel and tie the ends securely around the lid’s handle. Make sure the towel does not hang down into the buns or steamer, which could interfere with steaming or absorb too much moisture.

• Consistent simmer: Maintain a gentle simmer. Over-boiling means unstable steam and heat, and can lead to uneven or undercooked buns.

• Internal temperature: Use a thermometer and check for 190–200°F internal temp to ensure buns are fully cooked.

Uneven Cooking

• Spacing: Keep buns apart to ensure better steam circulation for even cooking.

• Rotating tiers: Essential when using stacked steamers for even heat distribution.

• Water level: Steady steam requires a constant water supply. Topping up with hot water is the endorsed approach.

Sticking Issues

• Liners: Parchment, cabbage leaves, or nonstick silicone prevent sticking and are widely recommended.

• Proofing: Avoid over-proofing in the steamer to prevent excess moisture buildup that can lead to sticking.

Pro Tip: Keep your steamer covered and steady, both in temperature and moisture. A gentle, consistent simmer under the basket, a well-fitted lid wrapped in a towel (if needed), and buns proofed to just double in size will help you avoid flat tops, gummy centers, uneven cooking, and sticking.

Steaming Without a Bamboo Steamer

You don’t need a bamboo steamer to enjoy light, fluffy steamed breads. If you have a metal colander or mesh strainer and a large pot with a lid, you already have the basics.

Colander + Pot Hack

1. Choose the Right Pot – Pick one wide enough to hold your colander or strainer so it rests just above the water without touching it.

2. Add Water – Fill the pot with about 1–2 inches of water. You want enough to create steam, but not so much that it bubbles up into your buns.

3. Line the Colander – Place a round of parchment paper with small holes poked through it to allow steam to circulate.

4. Steam with the Lid On – Cover with the pot’s lid. If the lid doesn’t fit snugly over the colander, tent the top with foil to trap steam.

Share Your Steamy Creations

I’d love to see what’s steaming in your kitchen this month. Whether you try the Fluffy Steamed Spinach Buns, the Sourdough Bao Buns, or your favorite recipe, snap a photo of your finished buns and share it on Instagram using the hashtag #steamandshine.

Be sure to tag @bread_experience so we can admire your handiwork. Because good bread is even better when it’s shared.