Ah, melon pan. Sweet bread covered with a thin layer of cookie dough and covered with sugar. The first time I tried this was during our trip to Japan. Even though it’s called ”melon” bread, there is no melon flavor – the name simply refers to their cute melon shape!
Ever since my first bite, I knew I wanted to make something like this at home! So when I found Tara’s Recipes easy melon pan recipe, I just had to try it myself and show you the results! You can find the recipe on her Instagram page or TikTok account. But to make things a little easier for us Dutchies (I know some ingredients can’t be found here in The Netherlands), I also made a little overview with the ingredients that you can buy here. Happy baking!
For this recipe, you need to make your own bread dough and cookie dough (Dutchies can switch to the NL part of my blog to see the correct overview with ingredients!). Just like with the original recipe, I thought it would be a very cute touch to add little faces to the buns once they were done. This was done with some melted chocolate.
Watch Tara’s recipe here:
For the cookie dough
1) Mix the butter with powdered sugar
2) Add the egg & vanilla extract and mix again
3) Add the cake flour & baking powder
4) Once the dough is done, refrigerate for 1 hour
For the bread dough:
1) Mix the milk, egg, sugar & instant yeast
2) Add the bread flour and salt to the mixture
3) Knead the dough for 10 minutes
4) Add the unsalted butter, mix and knead for another 15 minutes
5) Let the dough rise for 45 minutes before dividing it in 6 equal pieces
Next…
divide the cookie dough into 6 equal pieces, roll them out and put each piece over a ball of dough. Dip the cookie dough part into some sugar and add the fun melon shape! Let the buns rise again for 40 minutes before baking them in the oven (180°C for 20-25 minutes).
Optional: add some cute faces and you’re ready to eat!
Xxx Kirsten ♥
