Japanese Melon Bread (Crispy Cookie-Crusted Sweet Bun)
A Japanese sweet bun that wraps a soft, yeasted bread dough in a layer of cookie dough, then bakes both together so the exterior crisps into a shell while the interior stays fluffy. The bread dough, made with bread flour, milk, and butter, is kneaded and proofed until pillowy; the cookie dough, a simple blend of cake flour, sugar, butter, and egg, is chilled until firm enough to drape over the risen bread rounds. The contrast between the shattering cookie crust and the cloud-soft bread beneath is what defines melon pan. Scoring a crosshatch pattern on the cookie layer with a bench scraper mimics the rind of a melon and gives the bun its name and iconic look. Rolling the tops in granulated sugar before proofing adds sparkle and an extra layer of crunch. Baking at 170 degrees Celsius for 13 to 15 minutes sets the cookie shell without over-browning it; the bread inside continues to steam and rise, pushing against the firming crust and creating the characteristic dome shape. Best eaten within hours of baking, while the crust still audibly cracks.
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Instructions
- 1
Mix bread flour, sugar, and yeast; add milk and butter, knead into bread dough.
- 2
Combine cake flour, sugar, butter, and egg into cookie dough; chill 30 minutes.
- 3
Proof bread dough 1 hour, divide into 8, and round each.
- 4
Divide cookie dough into 8, flatten each, drape over bread dough, and score a crosshatch pattern.
- 5
Dip tops in granulated sugar and proof 30 minutes.
- 6
Bake at 170°C for 13-15 minutes, watching carefully as they brown quickly.
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