How To Store & Reheat Bao [Tried And Tested Methods]

This post was updated on 02/07/2023 for clarity and to incorporate new insights.

Bao buns are surprisingly easy to keep fresh.

You just have to follow a few simple steps to make sure they don’t stick together or become soggy.

In this article, I cover everything you need to know about storing and reheating bao buns (use these links to jump to the relevant section if you’re in a hurry).

How to store bao buns

The best way to store bao buns (also known as steamed buns) is in the freezer, where they’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, but the buns will become more stale with each passing day.

Freezing bao buns halts the staling process, so once you reheat them they’ll be good as new. Keeping them in the fridge won’t stop the staling process, so the dough will slowly harden.

Normally freezing things is more of a hassle so people try to avoid it, but freezing bao is really easy, and you can reheat them straight from frozen in a few minutes.

If you want to keep the bao in the fridge, leave them to cool to room temperature before removing any loose fillings and putting them in an airtight container. Separate any touching bao with parchment paper to avoid sticking.

How to freeze bao buns

1. Fully cook your buns and leave them to cool down to room temperature before removing any loose fillings (you can store these separately).
2. Place the buns on a parchment-paper-lined baking tray. Spreading them out to make sure they’re not touching and place the baking tray in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. Put the semi-frozen buns in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag. If using a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible before sealing it.
4. Label the container and return the bao the freezer for up to 3 months They will remain safe to eat after 3 months, but the quality may deteriorate.

It’s very important that you let the bao cool before you freeze them. Otherwise the excess moisture will turn to ice and ruin the texture of the dough. It’ll be soggy and mushy instead of light and fluffy.

Pre-freezing the bao on a baking tray first hardens them and means they won’t stick together when you transfer them to a bigger container. This means you can easily grab one or two to eat as a snack instead of having to defrost them all at the same time.

The best container to store your bao in is one without much excess air. Too much air exposure will lead to freezer-burnt bao. I always use a freezer bag because I can suck all the excess air out with a straw.

You can also dunk the freezer bag in water to force the air out, then seal it before taking it out of the water.

Can you freeze bao before steaming?

You can freeze bao before steaming it (as long as the dough’s been proofed), but most people prefer to freeze them after steaming because it makes the reheating process easier and quicker.

Steaming frozen but uncooked bao carries a small risk that you’ll over or under cook them because the cooking time is less predictable.

If you choose to freeze the bao uncooked, shape and assemble the bao and then flash freeze them for an hour before putting them in the airtight container. The flash-freezing ensures that they don’t stick together. Use them within 3 months.

You can steam them straight from frozen.

Can you store uncooked bao in the fridge?

I’d always advise cooking bao before storing them. But, you can refrigerate uncooked bao as long as you’ve used yeast as the leavening agent and not baking soda or baking powder.

If you’ve used either of the latter, they’ll spend themselves in the refrigerator and the dough will become tough. 

To refrigerate unsteamed bao buns, place them well spread apart on a non-stick baking tray, then cover them with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will stop the dough from drying out. The yeasted dough will last up to three days in the fridge, but it’s better if you use it within two. 

The dough will continue to rise in the fridge, albeit a lot more slowly.

To account for this, some people choose to use less yeast in their dough if they know it’s going to be refrigerated.

The reason I don’t advise storing the bao uncooked is that it can mess with the rising of the bun. In turn, this can affect the final product’s fluffiness.

How to reheat bao buns

The best way to reheat bao buns is to steam them for 2-3 minutes (7-8 minutes for frozen buns). You can also microwave the buns for 20-30 seconds, but make sure to cover them with a damp paper towel. If you have baked bao buns, cover them with foil and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

How do I know this? Because I tested it!

I ordered a load of bao from my favorite dumpling house and, using all my will power, put them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, yes morning because I couldn’t wait any longer, I set about reheating them.

I tested four different methods: steaming, microwaving, baking, and pan-frying.

How to reheat bao buns by steaming

Best for: steamed bao buns

1. Set up your steamer (bamboo or metal) and bring the water to a boil.
2. If the buns are refrigerated, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Frozen buns can be put in the steamer straight from the freezer.
3. Line the steamer basket with parchment paper to avoid sticking.
4. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to medium-high and place the buns in the steamer.
5. Cover the steamer with a dishcloth before putting the lid on.
6. Steam the buns for 7-8 minutes for frozen buns, or 2-3 minutes for refrigerated buns. These times are for filled buns, you can reduce them by a minute or so for unfilled buns.

The exact timings will vary depending on the size of your bao and how many you’re reheating. 

If you have big, filled buns you’re planning to reheat from frozen, you might want to defrost them a little before you steam them. This will ensure that the filling heats up evenly. 

The dishcloth helps to catch condensation before it drips on the buns. If any condensation drips on your buns, they’ll become wet and soggy, which we want to avoid!

Results: Steaming is the best and most reliable way of reheating bao. My buns were soft, slightly chewy, and piping hot all the way through. I almost couldn’t tell they weren’t fresh, and they stayed hot and soft for a decent amount of time so I didn’t need to rush to eat them.

How to reheat bao buns in the microwave

Best for: steamed bao buns

1. Wrap each bao bun in a damp paper towel and place 2-3 at a time in the microwave.
2. Microwave them in 10-second intervals until you have steaming hot buns, a single bun should take around 20 seconds. Frozen buns will take 30-40 seconds.
3. Eat the bao as soon as they come out of the microwave. They’ll cool down very quickly and can become very hard if you leave them for too long.

The damp paper towel is a necessity because it will create the steam needed to re-fluff the buns. 

Other ways to create steam in the microwave include:

• Sprinkling the buns with a few drops of water and then wrapping them loosely in plastic wrap.
• Microwaving the buns with a cup of water next to them.
• Microwave the buns sitting ON TOP of a cup of water (life hack!). The water steams up and heats the bun from underneath just like in a real steamer. An alternative to this is to buy a microwave steamer.

Microwaving times will vary depending on the power of your microwave, the size of your buns, and how many buns you’re reheating.

This is why I suggest using 10 seconds intervals. It’s very easy to over-nuke bao and the results are disastrous – a rubbery, chewy brick. 

Checking on your bao regularly is the best way to avoid this. 

If you have baked buns, you can still use the microwave to reheat them. But they might be a bit soggy – toasting them for 2-3 minutes in a toaster oven afterwards will fix this.

Results: Microwaving was the quickest way to reheat bao, and they turned out pretty soft but only if you ate them within a few minutes. After 5 minutes the buns had started to cool down and the texture was turning from soft to cardboard-like.

Reheating bao buns in the oven

Best for: baked bao buns

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lay the bao out on a non-stick baking tray.
2. Cover the bao with foil and bake them for 10-15 mins. Add a couple of extra minutes on for frozen buns.

The foil stops the bao from over-browning on the top.

If you’re reheating steamed buns this way, sprinkle them with water before adding the foil. This will help to create some moisture and prevent the dough from drying out too much.

Results: This definitely wasn’t the best way to reheat my steamed bao buns. The dough was much dried compared to the steaming and microwave methods, although being generous with the dipping sauce sorted this out. It was perfect for my baked buns though.

Bonus method: pan-fried bao

Pan-frying leftover bao buns is great if you’re bored of soft steamed buns and want some crisp, don’t expect soft and fluffy ‘fresh’ buns.

1. Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan in medium-high heat
2. When the oil sizzles if you drop a crumb into it, add the buns and heat for 2 minutes.
3. Flip the bun and heat the other side for 2 minutes.

Note: times will vary based on the size of the bao. This method will only work well for smaller-sized buns. Larger buns might not heat through before burning on the outside.

For this method, you’ll want to thaw frozen buns before frying them. Frozen buns won’t heat evenly and the excess moisture will make then soggy.

Leave the bao out at room temperature for an hour or defrost them in the fridge overnight.

It’s also important you don’t use too much oil, or put the bao in when the oil is cold. The dough will soak up cold oil very quickly and become greasy.

Results: I loved my pan-fried bao, they tasted pretty much the same but had a crispy exterior instead of a soft one. What’s not to like?

How to keep bao buns warm?

Bao buns are a popular party snack, but this raises the question of how to keep them warm for your guests. 

You don’t want the bao becoming cold because this will turn them hard. (Yuk).

To keep bao warm, keep them in a hot steamer with the lid closed. This will keep them warm for about 10-15 minutes.

If that isn’t long enough, the best thing to do is let the bao cool down and then reheat them when you need them. Reheating will take 30 seconds in the microwave or 2-3 minutes in a steamer.

How To Store & Reheat Bao [Tested Methods]

Bao are surprisingly easy to keep fresh. You just have to follow a few simple steps to ensure that they don’t stick together or become too soggy.

In this recipe, I cover everything you need to know about freezing, refrigerating, reheating, and keeping your bao buns fresh.

5 from 7 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Keyword: bao, steamed buns

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 person

Calories: 229kcal

Equipment

• Microwave steamer
• Tupperware
• Plastic wrap
• Ziploc bag

Ingredients

• 1 portion bao or steamed buns

Instructions

How to freeze bao buns

• It’s best to freeze bao after cooking because freezing them before cooking complicates the cooking process and means it’s easy to overcook them.
• Leave the steamed buns to cool down to room temperature.
• Place the buns on a parchment-paper-lined baking tray. Spread them out to make sure they’re not touching.
• Place the baking tray in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
• After 2 hours, place the buns in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
• Label the container and return to the freezer.
• Bao can last up to 4-6 weeks in the freezer before the quality will start to deteriorate. However, they’ll remain safe to eat long after this time (as long as the freezer is kept below 0 degrees Fahrenheit). 
• It’s very important that you let the bao cool before you freeze them. Otherwise the excess water will ruin their texture in the freezer.

Refrigerating cooked bao

• If you only need to keep your bao for a day or two then you can refrigerate them instead of freezing them.
• Cooked buns will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
• It’s really important to let the bao cool. If you don’t, condensation can build up and make the bao soggy. If you’re worried about moisture, put a sheet of kitchen towel in with the bao to absorb any excess moisture.

How to reheat bao

• There are several ways to reheat bao, with the most popular methods being steaming or microwaving. 

  Steaming is very reliable and always results in a fluffy texture. Microwaving is more unpredictable but can give good results quickly. The following instructions are for steaming. See main post for microwaving tips.
• Set up your steamer (bamboo or metal) and boil some water.
• If the buns are refrigerated, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Frozen buns can be put in the steamer straight from the freezer.
• Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to medium-high and place the buns in the steamer.
• Cover the steamer with a dishcloth before putting the lid on.
• Steam the buns for 7-8 minutes for frozen buns, or 2-3 minutes for refrigerated buns. These times are for filled buns, you can reduce them by a minute or so for unfilled buns.

Nutrition

Serving: 100g | Calories: 229kcal