Japanese cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Melon Pan

Sweet yeast bun under a crisp cookie-dough crust that cracks into its signature grid pattern while baking.

Ingredients · for 8 servings

• 300 g flour
• 7 g dry yeast
• 40 g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 150 ml whole milk
• 1 egg
• 40 g butter
• 150 g flour for the crust
• 100 g butter for the crust
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg for the crust
• 50 g sugar for coating

Instructions

1. For the yeast dough, mix flour, dry yeast, 40 g sugar and salt, add the lukewarm milk and the egg and knead for 8 min., then work in the soft butter and let rise covered at room temperature for 60 min. until doubled in size.
2. Meanwhile, for the crust, cream 100 g butter with 100 g sugar until fluffy, stir in the egg and fold in 150 g flour until a soft cookie dough forms; divide into eight balls and chill for 30 min.
3. Punch down the yeast dough, likewise divide into eight pieces and shape into smooth balls.
4. Roll each ball of cookie dough between plastic wrap into a circle of about 10 cm, lay it over a ball of yeast dough and gently smooth the edges downward, leaving the underside free.
5. Roll the buns all over in the sugar, score a diamond grid into the crust with a dough scraper and let rise covered on the baking sheet for 40 min.
6. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 °C top/bottom heat for 15–17 min. until the crust is pale golden and cracked along the scored lines, then let cool on a rack.