Japanese Melon Bread (Crispy Cookie-Crusted Sweet Bun)
Quick answer
- Active time
- 55 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Ingredients
- 10
About this dish
Bite into one and the sugared cookie shell cracks first, then the milk bread underneath gives way like a cloud.
Read more
Despite the name, there is no melon in it; the crosshatch scored into the cookie layer is meant to look like a melon's rind. A rather low oven sets that shell without letting it brown much, while the bread keeps rising underneath into a dome. Eat them the day they are baked, within a few hours, while the crust still crackles.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Mix 200 g bread flour, 30 g sugar, and 4 g instant yeast, then add 110 ml milk and bring the dough together.
Knead in 25 g unsalted butter until the dough turns smooth, elastic, and less sticky.
- 2
For the cookie dough, mix 50 g unsalted butter with 70 g sugar until even, then add 1 egg in portions so it does not separate.
Fold in 150 g cake flour and chill for at least 30 minutes until firm enough to handle.
- 3
Cover the bread dough and proof it in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it is nearly doubled and feels airy.
Press out excess gas, divide into 8 pieces, and round each piece by pulling the surface taut.
- 4
Divide the chilled cookie dough into 8 pieces and roll each one slightly wider than a bread round.
Drape it over the bread dough and tuck the edges gently, pressing just enough to attach without tearing the cookie layer.
- 5
Use a bench scraper or knife to press a shallow crosshatch pattern into the surface, without cutting through the cookie dough.
Coat the tops with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, then proof for 30 minutes until slightly puffed.
- 6
Bake at 170°C for 13 to 15 minutes, removing the buns when the edges are pale golden and the cookie crust is set.
Cool them on a rack so steam escapes and the cookie layer stays crisp instead of softening.
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