Japanese Melon Bread　

Melon pan is the Japanese classic sweet bread shaped to look like a melon or cantaloupe. It has a crunchy and sweet outer crust with a super soft and fluffy inside. I will show you how to make this amazing Japanese bread at home!

What is Melon Pan?

Melonpan is a type of sweet Japanese bread wrapped with crunchy cookie dough and replicates a melon or cantaloupe appearance.

Popular bread to taste among tourists in Tokyo

I never imagined that this Japanese classic Melon Pan would become so popular among tourists but it is and actually people queue up to buy melon pan in Tokyo. I visited the famous Kagetsudo Melon bread shop in Asakusa in April and had a massive Melon pan!

Appearance vs Flavour

Traditional melon pan doesn’t contain any melon or melon flavour but nowadays some melon pan does have a bit of a melon flavour and some stores do colour them green to make them look more like a melon. You can even buy green melon pan in Tokyo Disneyland that is made to look like Mike Wazowski. But personally, I prefer the original melon pan that is just a simple sweet bread flavour.

Interesting fact about Melon Pan

When my melon pan recipe first appeared on the blog, curious readers notified me about a Mexican sweet bread called “Conchas”. It’s fascinating that a similar type of bread to melonpan is found in Mexico! If you are interested about the story read it here.

Common failure of making Melon Pan

Does your melonpan taste great but the appearance does not meet your expectations? A common failure is that the cookie dough cracks during the second rise or while being baked.

Tips to make Melon Pan at home

1. Make the cookie dough before you start to make the bread and let the cookie dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Take the cookie dough out before you wrap and roll the bread dough. It’s easier to roll it out thinly without making any cracks when it is softened in room temperature.
3. Use a small bowl to shape a half hemisphere in order to wrap the bread dough easily without making the cookie dough edge pleated.
4. Do not score the cookie dough too deeply.

Here is my instruction for Melon Pan and If you liked it, please rate it and leave a comment or any questions below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!

Melon Pan

Melon bread, or 'melon pan', is a type of Japanese sweet bread. It's super yummy but has no melon flavour, it's just named for its appearance!

4.89 from 18 votes

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Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 8

Calories: 433kcal

Author: Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles

Ingredients

Bread dough

• 300 g baker's flour
• 40 g butter chopped
• 25 g sugar
• 4 g salt
• 160 ml milk
• 1 extra large egg
• 3 g dry yeast

Cookie dough

• 240 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 80 g butter
• 80 g sugar
• 1 extra large egg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
• Granule sugar for sprinkle

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Make the cookie dough by placing the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until light and creamy.
• Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix until well combined.
• Fold through the flour and baking powder.
• Divide the cookie dough into 8 small balls and set aside in the fridge. *1
• Combine egg, yeast, milk and sugar in a small bowl or jug
• Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the liquid mixture and stir to form a soft dough.
• Transfer to an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead for about 10 min or until smooth and elastic.
• With the mixer motor running, add the chopped butter until the butter is combined and a smooth and silky dough forms (about a further 10 minutes).
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover and set aside in a warm place to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• Divide the bread dough into 8 equal sized balls and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
• Roll out the refrigerated cookie dough on cling wrap to 5mm thick.
• Once it is rolled place one bread dough on top of one cookie dough ball and wrap together using cling wrap.
• Take the cling wrap off and score the cookie dough surface diagonally and sprinkle the granule sugar.
• Repeat for all 8 bread rolls.
• Place them on a cooking paper lined oven tray and cover with clean damp cloth and set aside for about 40 min or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 180 degree(356 f) and bake for 15 minutes.

Video

Notes

Baker's flours are same as bread flours. 

3 g of yeast is equivalent to 1 tsp of instant dry yeast

*1 I made half ordinary cookie dough and another half added 1.5g of matcha (½ tsp) to make matcha flavoured cookie dough

Nutrition

Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 327mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 465IU | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2mg

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