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–+ servings

Japanese Melon Pan

Prep Time1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Rise Time2 hours 25 minutes
Total Time3 hours 47 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 6 buns

Ingredients 
 

Tangzhong

Cookie Dough

  • 40 g unsalted butter
  • 50 g granulated sugar
  • 20 g whisked egg reserve the leftover egg for the bread dough
  • 2 drops vanilla essence
  • 70 g all-purpose flour
  • 30 g almond flour or all purpose flour
  • ⅛ tsp baking powder

Bread Dough

  • 15 g unsalted butter room temperature
  • 125 g bread flour
  • 15 g sugar
  • 3 g instant dry yeast or double the weight for fresh yeast
  • 3 g salt
  • 12 g whisked egg
  • 5 g honey
  • granulated sugar a few tbsp in a small bowl to coat the cookie dough later

Instructions 

Make the Tangzhong

  • Mix 25 g bread flour and 120 g water (cold) together in a pan until smooth. Place the pan on the stove and heat on low while stirring continuously. Once thickened to a paste (around 60 °C (140 °F)) immediately lift the pan off the heat.
    tangzhong thickened in a saucepan on the stove top
  • Transfer the tangzhong to a heatproof bowl, cover the bowl and leave to cool to room temperature.
    tangzhong in a glass bowl

Cookie Dough

  • Whip 40 g unsalted butter and 50 g granulated sugar together in a bowl until smooth and pale.
    butter and sugar creamed in a steel mixing bowl with whisk
  • Add 20 g whisked egg one-third at a time and whip well between each addition, then add 2 drops vanilla essence.
    creamed butter and sugar with egg in a steel mixing bowl with whisk
  • Fold in 70 g all-purpose flour, 30 g almond flour and ⅛ tsp baking powder until there are no more streaks of dry ingredients.
    melon pan cookie dough in a steel mixing bowl with spatula
  • Wrap and refrigerate while you make the bread dough.
    melon pan cookie dough wrapped with plastic wrap ready for chilling

Bread

  • Measure out 15 g unsalted butter and set it aside to come to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, add 125 g bread flour, 3 g salt, 15 g sugar, and 3 g instant dry yeast. Whisk 12 g whisked egg and 5 g honey together in a separate bowl until combined. Your tangzhong should be cooled by now.
    elements of melon pan bread on a kneading board. Dry ingredients in a steel mixing bowl, butter measured in a small glass bowl, egg and honey mixed in a bowl, tangzhong in a bowl.
  • Add the tangzhong and whisked egg/honey mixture to the dry ingredients and mix everything together thoroughly until it forms a rough dough.
    Mixing melon pan dough ingredients in a steel mixing bowl with plastic bench straper
  • Transfer the dough out onto a clean dry surface and use a bench scraper to smear the dough across the surface.
    spreading bread dough on marble effect kneading board
  • Scrape the dough back up and repeat smearing and gathering in different directions until it becomes stretchy and more manageable.
    rolling up enriched dough using a plastic bench scraper
    • This dough starts off very sticky, but avoid adding extra flour. It will become easier to handle as you work the dough.
  • Switch to the slap and fold method. Hold the edges of the dough, slap it onto the surface away from you and stretch it back towards you.
    stretching bread dough on a marble kneading board
  • Pull the dough away from you and over itself. Turn the dough 90° and repeat until smooth and passes the windowpane test.
    folding melon pan dough over to knead
  • Spread the dough out into a large rectangle, as big as you can without tearing it, and spread the room temperature butter over the top. Roll it up, then knead until smooth and no longer feels greasy.
    Using bench scraper to roll up the dough and butter
  • Place the dough in a clean bowl covered with a clean damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm draft-free area until doubled in size (approx 1 hour at room temperature.
    smooth kneaded dough for melon pan
  • Press the dough to degas, then lift it out of the bowl and tuck the edges down and underneath. Repeat 5 times and then pinch the base. The top of the dough should be tight and smooth. Rest again for 20-30 minutes.
    turning dough inside out before second rise
  • Degas the dough once more, then weigh it and divide it into approximately 45g/1.58 oz pieces. Pull the edges of each piece down and underneath, then gather them into a point at the bottom to make tight balls.
    pinching the bottom of the shaped dough
  • Loosely cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
    6 balls of dough resting under plastic wrap for bench time
  • While you wait, divide the cookie dough into equal pieces (about 35g / 1.23oz) each. Roll into balls, then roll each one between two pieces of plastic wrap until 10cm (4") in diamter. Stack them into a container and keep in the fridge until it's time to shape.
    cookie dough for melon pan rolled into discs and stacked in a container with plastic wrap between them
  • Lightly dust your work surface and hands with flour and roll each piece of dough flat into a 10cm (4") diameter circles. Tuck the edges back under and pinch into tight balls.
    dough divided into 6 pieces, shaping by pulling edges under
  • Take a piece of cookie dough and carefully peel off the top layer of plastic wrap. Place the dough with the pinched side facing up, and wrap the cookie dough around the top, leaving the bottom of the bread dough exposed so there is room to expand.
    wrapping dough with cookie dough to shape melon pan
  • Pour granulated sugar into a bowl. Peel the plastic wrap off of the top of the cookie dough and roll it in the sugar.
    coating cookie dough for melon pan with granulated sugar
  • Use a bench scraper or cutlery knife to press 4-5 lines horizontally and vertically across the cookie dough to make a crosshatch pattern. Avoid dragging the knife, as this will catch the dough and make the lines messy.
    pressing incisions in melon pan cookie dough with plastic bench scraper
  • Arrange the shaped melon pan on baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving plenty of space between each one.
    melon pan shaped and spaced apart on a lined baking tray for final rise
  • Leave to rise uncovered until the size has increased by about 1.5x and the cookie dough is starting to tear at the incisions (about 45 minutes). Preheat your oven to 200 °C (392 °F) in advance, well before they finish rising.
    Melon pan with cracked cookie dough after final rise on a lined baking tray
  • Place the tray in the oven on the middle shelf and lower the temperature to 190 °C (374 °F). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Turn half way through to ensure even baking.
    six baked melon pan on a baking sheet lined with brown parchment paper
  • Tranfer to a wire rack until cool enough to touch, and enjoy while they're still warm!
    A hand holding one half of a melon pan that has been torn to reveal pillowy soft bread inside

Notes

  • Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature and consume within 1-2 days.
  • If you want to eat them the next day, warm them in the oven to refresh the crunchy cookie tops (they soften overnight).
  • If you don't plan to eat them the same day, freezing is the best way to store them.
  • Make the tangzhong and cookie dough the night before and store in the fridge, bring the tangzhong to room temperature before use.
  • Avoid adding any flour when kneading the dough. It will be tempting in the beginning when the dough is very sticky but that is normal. It will become more manageable as you knead.
  • The dough should pass the windowpane test (stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing) before adding the butter.
  • Enriched doughs take longer to rise because the sugar, egg, and butter are working against the yeast. Base the rise on the size and feel of the dough, not the time it takes. First rise should almost double in size, second and final rise should increase by about 1.5x.
  • Preheat your oven early, about halfway through the final rise, or earlier your oven takes a long time to heat up.