Melon Pan

oh boo =( I made crackle melon pan...melon pan is not supposed to crackle!!! Melon pan is this wonderful Japanese bread that is composed of a sweet bread with a cookie topping. The cookie part is supposed to cover the entire cookie, not just parts of it. It has a faint taste of melon in the cookie portion, and I have also seen it with pastry cream inside.

Although the melon pan does not look authentic, I have to say that I like the taste. The bread part is very soft, and the cookie portion is just the right amount of sweetness (for me at least). This recipe comes from a bread recipe book that I bought in Japan. Here's the recipe. Thanks to Mrs. K. for the translation!!

Melon Pan
makes 10 mini buns
total time: 2 1/2 hours

for the bread:
160g bread flour
40g all purpose flour
4g instant yeast
10g sugar
3g salt
10g milk
20g softened butter
120g water

for the topping:
200g all purpose flour
2/3 tsp baking powder
94g softened butter
87g sugar
40g egg
two to three drops of melon essence

1. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Combine the milk and water together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and knead the dough until it's no longer sticky.

2. Smear the butter into the dough and continue to knead until the dough no longer feels sticky.

3. Shape the dough into a round ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise in a warm area for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, or until double in volume.

4. In the meantime, prepare the cookie dough. Mix the butter and sugar together. Gradually add the egg until it's incorporated. Then add the melon essence and set aside. Sift the baking powder and flour together. Mix the butter mixture with the flour mixture taking care not to over mix. Divide into 10 equal pieces.

5. When the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and gently punch out the gas. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll into rounds, pinching the bottoms closed. Cover the small doughs and let rest for another 10 minutes.

6. In the mean time, roll out the cookie dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, parchment or wax paper. Roll into circular pieces large enough just enough to cover the small doughs. Place the cookie dough on top of the bread dough (see note).

7. Coat the exterior with sugar (see note). Allow to proof again for another 30 to 35 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the buns for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Note:

• I did some research after these came out all broken apart. Happy Home Baking suggests that when you place the cookie dough on top of the dough, you leave about 2 to 3 cm uncovered to allow the dough to expand without breaking the cookie dough. In Wild Yeast's recipe, she puts the cookie dough on after the dough has already risen. I will probably do combination of both next time I make this recipe.
• I didn't end up coating the cookie portion with sugar on top. I wanted to minimize the amount of sugar in my recipe.
• These buns don't get much color. I baked mine for about 11 minutes and checked the internal temperature. The temperature was 190 degrees, the correct temperature for sweet bread. I wouldn't bake mine any longer as the texture was really soft.