Learn how to make Melon Pan, a classic Japanese sweet bread covered in a thin layer of crisp biscuit/ cookie crust with grid line pattern on top.
Do you think about the foods that you used to enjoy in your childhood and still long for them once in a while? Kashi pan (菓子パン) or Japanese sweet bread has a special spot in my heart, especially my favorite Anpan (あんパン) and these Melon Pan (メロンパン).
Living abroad, there are not too many Japanese bakeries that sell freshly baked kashi pan; therefore I had to learn to make them mself. Today I’ll show you how to make Melon Pan with both the hand kneading method as well as the stand mixer method. Are you ready? You’ll soon be able to make these freshly baked Melon Pan in your own kitchen!
Watch How To Make Melon Pan【Hand Kneading】
Watch How To Make Melon Pan【Stand Mixer】
Melon Pan is a classic Japanese Kashi Pan, I’ll show you how to make this delightful treat either by hand kneading or with a stand mixer.
What is Melon Pan?
Melon Pan is sweet bread covered in a thin layer of crisp biscuit/cookie crust with grid line pattern on top. The Japanese word for bread is “pan (パン)”, which came from the Portuguese word for bread. Now why is it called “melon“?
Does it taste like melon? No, traditionally the bread does NOT include melon flavor or the fruit itself. Then why is it called Melon Pan if there is no melon flavor?
There are a few different theories for the origin of Melon Pan’s name (still no conclusive theory even today).
Some say that the original melon pan was invented during the Meiji Era. The bread resembled an oriental melon (マクワウリ) with the parallel lines on the crust, and was filled with sweet white bean paste (shiro-an) inside. During that time, the oriental melon was sold as “melon” so they started to call this “Melon Pan”.
By Sanjo (Own Photo (Own work)) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
In Taisho Era, the similar round bread with biscuit/cookie crust was introduced to western and southern western Japan (Osaka and Hiroshima area), and they named it “Sunrise (サンライズ)” bread. Later on, this round Sunrise bread started to be sold as Melon Pan throughout Japan, as the appearance resembles a muskmelon, which was (and still is) highly prized fruit.
Today, if you visit the Kansai area, the football shape bread you see above with white bean paste filling is what they call Melon Pan. They still refer to the round bread with biscuit crust Sunrise bread (while it’s known as melon pan everywhere else). Our local Andersen bakery that started in Hiroshima also calls their Melon Pan “Sunrise”. In Shikoku Island, Melon Pan is called “Koppepan (コッペパン)”.
Other theories on the origin of the name says the word “melon” comes from “meringue (メリンゲ)”, which is placed on top of the bread dough before being baked. Maybe we’ll find out the Melon Pan’s origin one day. Who knew Melon Pan is quite mysterious bread?!
Variations of Melon Pan
There are some Melon Pans that include chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or even matcha, and some bakeries put custard (cream) inside the bun.
In recent years, a lot of bakeries started to add real pureed melon or melon syrup (from either real melon or the green melon syrup we use for shaved ice) in the dough to add “melon” flavors or color. However, for today’s recipe I made my Melon Pan with classic ingredients.
There’s no doubt kneading the dough in a stand mixer is much easier and faster. But I want to encourage everyone to make bread with your hands once in a while even though you have a stand mixer.
It does require more time and effort, but when I knead dough with my hands I feel it’s different. The difference in taste might be too subtle to recognize but maybe there’s that extra special ingredient … called love 🙂
To be completely honest the hand kneading method and stand mixer method both tasted the same to our family. Perhaps it’s because I am not an expert baker. I will say using the stand mixer was much easier and requires a lot less manual work compared to hand kneading. Let me know if you do try both method and tastes the difference.
Bread Similar to Melon Pan in the World
- Pineapple Bun – Hong Kong, Taiwan, China (We buy this bread from a Chinese bakery and it’s delicious! The biscuit/cookie crust is not as crispy or firm as Melon Pan, so it flakes very easily. Pineapple buns are softer and fluffier than Melon Pan.)
- Soboro Bread – Korea
- Rotiboy (Mexican coffee bun) – Malaysia
- Conchas (Mexican sweet bread) – Mexico
Does your country have similar bread like Melon Pan?
I hope you will enjoy making this Melon Pan recipe! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
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- 225 g bread flour (225 g = 1 ¾ cup) (extra for sprinkling)
- 25 g cake flour (25 g = scant ¼ cup) (No cake flour? See Notes)
- 3 g kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt) (3 g = 1 tsp)
- 40 g sugar (40 g= 3 Tbsp)
- 4 g instant yeast (4 g = 1 ¼ tsp) (See Notes if you use active dry yeast)
- 1 large egg (1 egg = 46-50g/ml) (beaten)
- 50 ml whole milk (50 ml = 3 ½ Tbsp) (keep at 86F/30C) (See Notes)
- 50 ml water (50 ml = 3 ½ Tbsp) (keep at 86F/30C)
- 35 g unsalted butter (35 g = 2 ½ Tbsp) (cut into small cubes and at room temp)
- 60 g unsalted butter (60 g = about 4 Tbsp) (at room temp)
- 100 g sugar (100 g = ½ cup)
- 1 large egg (1 egg = 46-50g/ml) (beaten)
- 200 g cake flour (200 g = 1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp) (No cake flour? See Notes)
- 2 g baking powder (2 g = ½ tsp)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
-
Gather all the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine 225 g (1 ¾ cup) bread flour, 25 g (scant ¼ cup) cake flour, 40 g (3 Tbsp) granulated sugar, and 3 g (1 tsp) kosher salt.
- Add 4 g (1 tsp) instant dry yeast and 1 large beaten egg to the bowl with dry ingredients.
- Add 50 ml (3 ½ Tbsp) milk and 50 ml (3 ½ Tbsp) water, both at 86F (30C). Using a silicon spatula or your fingertips, gently mix the ingredients together until they are combined.
- In the beginning, dough is very sticky and wet, but keep mixing until it forms a loose, sticky ball. Also use the dough to pick up the flour on the sides of the mixing bowl. This step should take about 2 minutes. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured work surface.
- Press the heels of your hands into the dough, pushing forward slightly. Fold the top half of the dough in half back toward you. Then rock forward on the lower part of your palm to press it flat.
- Turn the dough slightly (to clockwise), fold it in half, and rock into it again with lower part of your palm. This process is called "punching" the dough and the goal is to lengthen and stretch the gluten strands in the dough. Repeat for 5 minutes or so. Tip: If the dough doesn't seem to be losing its stickiness, sprinkle more flour over the top and work it into the dough. You can lightly dust your hands with flour to keep the dough from sticking too much.
- After “punching” for 5 minutes and the dough gets more elastic, press and stretch the dough, about 10 inches (25 cm). Then put small cubes of 35 g (2 ½ Tbsp) unsalted butter on top of the dough. Roll up the dough tucking the butter in, and then continue the kneading process.
- Your hands, dough, and the work surface will get oily and messy in the beginning. Don't’ be panic. I recommend using a metal/silicone dough scraper to collect the dough stuck on the work surface once in a while and keep kneading.
- As you knead, the dough will absorb the butter and it will eventually become very smooth and easier to work with. Finally, start banging the dough onto the work surface and fold it over away from you. This helps develop gluten (elasticity). Bang the dough, turn it 90 degree, and “punch” it, using the lower part of your palm. Continue this process for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, supple, and silky. Tip: Don’t let go of the dough when you are banging onto the work surface and don’t let it rest for too long between turns.
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine 225 g (1 ¾ cup) bread flour, 25 g (scant ¼ cup) cake flour, 40 g (3 Tbsp) granulated sugar, 3 g (1 tsp) kosher salt, and 4 g (1 tsp) instant dry yeast. Whisk all together.
- Set your mixer with a dough hook attachment.
- Add 1 large beaten egg and 50 ml (3 ½ Tbsp) milk and 50 ml (3 ½ Tbsp) water, both which have been kept at 86F (30C), to the bowl with dry ingredients.
- Start kneading on low speed (speed 2). Use a silicon spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple of times.
- Continue to knead until it clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl.
- Once dough starts to come together, add the butter and continue to mix on low speed until butter has been incorporated. Then increase speed to medium and knead until dough is silky, smooth and elastic.
- When the dough gets silky and smooth, pull the end of your dough with your thumb and fingers. Keep spreading the dough with your fingers, stretching the dough into thin translucent membrane. This test is called Windowpane Test to see if the dough's gluten has been developed enough. If the dough tears, the gluten isn’t quite ready yet. Knead the dough for another 2 minutes and test again.
- Shape the dough into a ball by pulling all sides of the ball to the bottom and pinching them together. Place the dough in a bowl (the seam on the bottom).
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. I use a Proof setting (100F / 38C) in my oven.
- In a large bowl, add 60 g (About 4 Tbsp) unsalted butter and mix with the silicone spatula until it becomes smooth.
- Add 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar and mix with the silicone spatula until they blend well together.
- Slowly add very small amount of 1 large beaten egg (46-50 g/ml) into the bowl and blend well together before you add another small amount of the egg. Continue until all the egg is well blended.
- Sift 200 g (1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp) cake flour and 2 g (½ tsp) baking powder into the mixture.
- Using the silicone spatula, mix well until the dough is not floury. Collect the dough and make into a ball.
- In a clean stand mixer bowl, add 60 g (About 4 Tbsp) unsalted butter and 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar.
- Mix until well blended and smooth.
- Slowly add very small amount of 1 large beaten egg (46-50 g/ml) into the bowl and blend well together before you add another small amount of the egg. Continue until all the egg is well blended.
- Sift 200 g (1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp) cake flour and 2 g (½ tsp) baking powder to the mixture.
- Mix until it’s incorporated and the dough is not floury. Then take out the dough and form into a ball.
- Measure the weight of the biscuit dough. It should be around 400-410 g. Remember the weight as you’ll need it later (to measure 1/10 of the dough).
- Roughly cut the dough into 10 pieces.
- Starting from the big piece, measure the weight again till it weighs 1/10 of the total weight (in my case, 40-41 g). If it’s heavier, pinch off the dough and add the extra dough to a smaller dough, by stuffing the extra into the inside of the smaller dough.
- Roll the 10 pieces of biscuit dough into 10 balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with silicone baking mat or baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes until it hardens a bit.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, dust your index finger with flour and put it in the center of the dough. If the hole doesn’t close, then the dough is ready for next step.
- Remove the dough with silicone dough scraper and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough with your hands to release gas in the dough and deflate.
- Fold the dough in thirds and then fold in thirds again. Flip to keep the seam side on the bottom. Shape the dough into a ball. To close the seam line, rotate the dough (clockwise) with both hands while the seam line is touching the work surface.
- Measure the weight of the main dough. It should be around 460-470 g. Remember the weight as you’ll need it later (to measure 1/10 of the dough).
- Using a dough scraper, roughly cut the dough into 10 equal pieces. Starting from the big piece, measure the weight again till it weighs 1/10 of the total weight (in my case, 46-47 g).
- If it’s heavier, pinch off the dough from the center and add the extra dough to a smaller dough, by stuffing the extra into the inside of the smaller dough. Knead to combine well. Shape each dough piece into a nice round ball, pulling from all the sides and tuck into the bottom. Place the dough on your left (right) palm, and rotate it with your right (left) hand, keeping the seam side on the bottom.
- Put the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Cover the dough with plastic wrap (I use a portable cupcake holder lid) to prevent from drying. Rest the dough for 15 minutes at the room temperature.
- Put the Biscuit Dough on the lightly floured work surface and flatten the dough with your hand.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out into 4 inch (10-12 cm) flat rounds. Continue the rest until the main dough is ready.
- After 15 minute of resting, flatten the main dough with your hand and fold in thirds.
- Then fold in thirds one more time and pinch both ends to shape the dough into a ball.
- Pull the dough from all sides towards the seam on the bottom. Place the dough on your left (right) palm, and rotate it with your right (left) hand a few times, keeping the seam side on the bottom.
- Place the Biscuit Dough on your palm and put the Main Dough in the middle, seam side facing up.
- Then flip to show the Biscuit Dough on top. Gently pull all sides of the Biscuit Dough wrapping around the Main Dough.
- Coat the Biscuit Dough with granulated sugar (2 Tbsp) and remove the excess sugar. Then using a dough scraper or knife, gently score the Biscuit Dough into crisscross pattern (I score 3 lines each side).
- Place the dough on the baking sheet, seam side on the bottom. Cover the dough with plastic wrap to prevent from drying.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place until the dough rises one and a half (1.5 x) in size, about 50 minutes (I used the Proof setting (100F / 38C) in my oven).
- When the dough has risen half way, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Note: If you are using the oven for proof, you have to transfer the dough to a warmer place so you can preheat the oven.
- Bake at for 13-15 minutes. Toward the end of baking if you see the bread is not being browning evenly, rotate the bread once so that the bread gets even color.
- Once bread is baked, transfer to a wire rack and let it cool. Keep in an airtight container or bag after it’s been cooled. Enjoy!
Prep Time includes resting time for dough.
Cake flour: If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Here’s how.
1 cup AP flour - 2 Tbsp. AP flour + 2 Tbsp. cornstarch = 1 cup cake flour
Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it in your cake batter.
Instant Dry Yeast: If you're using active dry yeast, it requires being activated in a little bit of warm water (110F/43C) before being added to the rest of the ingredients. In this recipe, add the active dry yeast in 110F/43C milk, hotter than the temperature specified in the recipe because if the milk is not hot enough, the yeast won't dissolve nicely. More about the difference between instant dry yeast and active dry yeast, read here.
Whole milk: I highly recommend using whole milk instead of reduced fat milk, but it's up to you.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Yay! I am so excited that you finally have a recipe on melon pan for us to try ourselves. Earlier this year I was sad when I found out that you didn’t have a recipe on melon pan. I had to surf around the internet instead for a different melon pan recipe to use so I could try out the bread myself. I can’t wait to try out your recipe, when I have the time, and enjoy some delicious bread afterwards! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kat! Thank you for waiting! I can’t express how bad I feel as I continuously receive this recipe all these years yet I hadn’t share a recipe till now. xD I hope my recipe works for you. I made so many Melon Pan while testing the recipe and I needed some break, but I think I’m ready to make again. LOL. They are so delicious!
Hi. Is it possible to use a gluten free flour? Like rice flour? Thank you so much. I always enjoy your posts, and my family enjoys the food!
Hi Aimee! Thank you for reading my blog! I haven’t tested GF flour to try this or rice flour. I think it’ll come out differently, but it might be worthwhile to try with GF flour (rice four probably different texture).
If anyone try with GF flour, please let us know! 🙂
Nami, do you have any modifications for high altitude baking? I live near the foothills of Denver, so around 5400 ft elevation and baking can sometimes be a little tricky with the altitude. I love melon pan and would love to make this recipe but I’m wondering if I need to change the amount of leavening agent or water. Any suggestions?
Hi Claire! I have zero experience in high altitude cooking/baking. 🙁 Mr JOC is in currently Denver! Wow… 5400ft!
I looked up and there are some “basic” rule/suggestions for high altitude baking, which you might already know.
I thought this blog summarizes well and she is experienced:
http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/high-altitude/
Let us know your experience when you try? Maybe other JOC readers who live in the mountain might want to know. 🙂
Wow the resting time is so long! No wonder everyone buys it at the conbini instead.
Also I never thought the top “coat” was actually a biscuit layer. Now it makes sense.
Well, I never liked melon pan (at least the ones I bought in any supermarket in japan) except for the ones with chocolate chips inside, but when I have time, I guess I will try this recipe.
As always thanks for the recipe!
Hi Andrea! Yes…. I used proof setting in my oven to get that warm environment (SF can be quite cold for bread to rise…) so it didn’t take as long as before when I didn’t have the proof setting. Yeah, honestly, if you can buy a decent melon pan especially from bakeries… I’d probably do that. LOL. But once you make your homemade melon pan, they are so good that you’ll be happy too. 🙂
Yeah the top layer is biscuit dough. Try from good bakeries in Japan (not conbini or supermarket). I think you might enjoy it. 🙂
Thank you for reading my blog!
Hey Nami!
I made melon pan today and gosh, as expected it’s way more delicious when homemade!!
It was the first time I made brioche-like pastries and I’m amazed to see how easy and fun it was to make.
I’m definitely gonna try to make some more later!
But I think I’ll make the biscuit layer a bit more thinner next time.
Also I was a bit worried since I didn’t have bread flour, but I added 3tsp of AP flour and it was all good!
By the way, if I want to add choco chips, when would it be better to put them in the bread dough?
Anyway, thanks as always for the awesome recipes!
Oh yeah, I took a photo ???? https://www.instagram.com/p/BJiShoOBZ_j/
Hi Andrea! Yay! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I just saw your instagram. Perfect looking too!
Thank you for your tip on bread flour – 3 tsp (1 Tbsp) all purpose flour swap. 🙂
Some add choco chip on cookie crust only, some put in the main dough. If you want it to look choco chip, I recommend adding in the cookie crust. 🙂
i really enjoyed to make these things. and cause anpan uses the same dough iv done them too.
the only problem is, that the sugar on the biscuit was to much, the next time i will do it, i wont sugar them
Hi Philipp! Do you mean the coating on the biscuit dough? It’s a sweet bread so I guess it’s always dipped in the sugar. It can be an optional for sure. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! I’ve been wanting to make some soft asian bread as those in dim sum places. I made those yesterday and they tasted yummy! But due to my limited skills they don’t look as pretty as yours haha.
I have a question for the melon pans as well as the red bean bun you shared before. The ones I made didn’t come out as soft as store-bought or restaurants ones. They are kind of rough or hard, especially after a day or two. Do you might know the reason? Or how to make bread softer in general?
Thanks again for sharing and demonstrating this wonderful recipe!
Hi Vera! Few key points I can suggest:
1) flour – I have problem with this and I hope to get better flour for bread, but try to get good quality flour, not supermarket flour. After all, this is the main ingredient.
2) kneading and proofing – very important for fluffy bread. I think hand kneading can secure the kneading part right. Knead until you get the thin membrane like texture. When you don’t have enough time for bread to rise, it gets hard bread, and when you let the bread rise too long, then you don’t have the elastic bouncy texture in the bread.
3) sugar – when you add more sugar in the dough, it gives some moist, and if you increase in butter, it stays moist/not dry for a longer time. Make sure you don’t change the amount less than what I specified in the recipe.
Hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
Thank you for your reply! I will pay attention to those details.
Thanks! 🙂
I tried the Melonpan at last weekend and they have incredibly tasty. For a brief moment I felt like in Tokyo. The manual is very easy to understand and it’s easy to bake to. Thank you very much.
Hi Jacky! Thank you for trying this recipe already! So glad to hear you enjoyed it. Melon Pan out of the oven is SOOOO good! Happy to know that you get to taste it. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words on my instructions!
Could I use salted butter? If so how would I go about replacing it.?(By the way, I love this recipe so much :])
Hi Rosa! For baking, unslated butter is recommended. The National Dairy Council (NDC) says that “generally, salted butter contains 1.6–1.7 percent” salt. But it’s up to each company to determine how much it wants to use in its product. It’s really hard to calculate how much salt is in the butter already. What it contains more than you wanted to add to the recipe? How about how much more you need to add? It gets complicated… so since I started baking, I buy only unsalted and sprinkle salt on my butter for eating bread (like a fancy restaurant LOL). Hope this helps!
I’ve been trying to make melon pan for a year and a half now, and I never had positive results. So I found this recipe and it’s very different from the others, i tried. The bread dough is PERFECT like this, but the cookie dough isnt good at all. It breaks too easily and it doesnt give a very nice looking melon pan, because it cracks while the bread rises. Summarizing, this bread recipe deserves A+, I’m totally changing the way i make breads now haha
But the cookie dough sucks, im sorry. And I’m very disappointed because melon pan isn’t melon pan if its crust looks fucked up, even though the inside is great. Damn it, almost perfect.
Hi Joo! Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad to hear your dough came out well with this recipe and sorry the cookie dough didn’t come out well. How long did you keep in the fridge? Do you think it can be the thickness of the cookie dough when you roll out? I’ve seen my readers outcome and theirs don’t seem to crack that is visible. Was yours very visible? I made this so many times during the testing, and the cookie dough wasn’t the issue (I really wanted the bread texture to be perfect). Maybe you can match with other’s cookie dough recipe to make a perfect one. 😉
Hi Nami…
Hello from Indonesia!
I already make this melon pan..and it’s lovely!
Thank you for the recipe ???? will tag you on instagram
Hi Stella! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! So happy you made Melon Pan in Indonesia! 😀 I’ll check out #justonecookbook hashtag later! 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hey,
So I just wanted to say that in some steps you maybe made it look a bit more complicated than it is ?? (like “rotate the dough CLOCKWISE” ?) It might be nice for beginners to have detailed instuctions on how to work the dough (fold, knead, rotate etc.) but you don’t have to do it exactly like that. The recipe looks kind of intimidating like this, with so many steps to follow, when it’s actually just a sweet bread dough topped with cookie crust. I know, yeast can be a little b*tch, but it’s more about getting a feeling for the dough than rotating in a certain direction or folding an exact amount of times in exactly the same way.
No hate, I just thought it would be sad if some people thought they can’t do it because it looks so long and complicated.
Other than that, I really want to thank you. I ate one every Day in Japan and I’ve had this Melonpan craving ever since I left Japan. After seeing your pictures, I want them even more, so I’ll make some today!!!
Hi Schnabel! Thank you so much for your feedback! Mr. JOC told me similar thing in the past.
I told him the same, but I guess I’m used to super detailed instructions which are very common in Japan (we love getting instructions…).
I’ve learned bread making from Japanese cookbooks and as a beginner bread maker, I really love how detailed each step was written. Without it (and there was no video), I probably wouldn’t know if I was doing the right thing. So I used the same approach to write this recipe (and all my recipes).
I also learned that many JOC readers don’t necessarily follow method by watching my video (but watch it as reference), so I wrote exactly how you have to do in each step… I receive a lot of feedback from beginner cooks that my detailed recipes helped and overcame their fear of cooking. So I apologize in advance if my steps are tedious and long…
Plus, my English is not very good, so I can’t make a point in a short sentence and end up with 3 extra sentences… LOL.
I really appreciate your feedback. Hopefully my recipe writing will be better as I write more…
Hi Nami!
I made this today, and it was super tasty! I’ll definitely be making melon pan again. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be sure to check out other ones as well!
I’m so happy you tried this recipe! Thank you very much for your kind feedback! 🙂
YAAAAAAAAAS COOOONCHAAAAASSSS!!!!!
Hi Sara! Sorry I missed your comment. YES! It’s SO similar to conchas!! 🙂
なみさん、レシピをありがとうございます‼︎
お疲れ様でした‼︎
Your site is really wonderful, it is so well explained, with much photos and videos. I am so glad I found it. I wanted to have the genuine recipe for melon pan so I checked in japanese but やはり the language level was too high for me to understand. So I found your site and am delighted about it !
Yet, if you have a small spare time could you help me out ? Because I left the dough rise 3 hours (and it wasn’t as well as yours), it didn’t seem to rise or enough at least… So when I put it in the oven, it didn’t rise. It stayed as before unbaked : small. I tried baking it again and again but nothing happened… So i tried to eat and it was delicious. So I know your recipe is awesome.
Do you have any clue about why it didn’t rise ? Maybe I didn’t let it rise enough… I was kind of in a hurry… Yet I let it 3 and 1h… Or do you think it’s about the ingredients ? Because I live in France and I was so surprised to see that we don’t have the same flours, yeast, and even salt ! So I seeked for even things over the net and thought I had it… For the yeast we don’t have any rapid dry as you mentioned at all… So I melted it in hot milk…
If you ever have any clue on why it didn’t rise at all, I’d be really glad to read it because I love melon pan so much !!
長すぎるコメントを申し訳ございません‼︎読んでくださってありがとうございます‼︎
Hi Camillle! コメント、どうもありがとう！
I’m not sure how the yeast you used works, but considering that yeast was okay, maybe you might have left the dough out at room temperature for too long. If that’s the case, the dough loses its structure and ability to hold air pockets and just collapses. Maybe that’s why it didn’t rise? Bread making is hard to troubleshoot as I was not there to watch. 🙁
I think you can use other flour to make this bread but it might be different in texture. I don’t think the flour was issue here. It must be the yeast and how the dough was during resting time.
Bonjour Camille,
J’habite aussi en France et j’ai eu le même problème avec la levure sèche traditionnelle, qu’il faut activer dans le lait tiède. Après 1h30 elle n’avait toujours pas levé. J’ai refais une nouvelle pâte avec cette fois de la levure fraîche (11g) et là c’ était parfait.
Ces melon pan sont délicieux, mon fils qui est un grand fan de cuisine japonaise était aux anges. Merci Nami pour cette recette.
Mary
i love melonpan
Thank you Judy! Me too! 🙂
Hi!
How would I go about making matcha biscuit dough?
Hi Diana! You can add matcha powder to the biscuit dough along with the flour. Start with small amount, maybe 1-2 tsp? I haven’t tried it, but gradually sift matcha powder and see how it is. 🙂
Thabk you very much for this resipe! I’ve always loved seeing the photos of tgia bread but it is completely unavailable where I live. This will also be a wonder new and unique memory to make with my sons. Also.. I hope this isn’t a strange question but would you happen to have a recipe how to make katsu-don (If i mis spelt it I am so very sorry). I’m very happy and appreciate all the information you have shared. Thank you very much
Hi Stacey! Hope you enjoy this recipe! I just published “Baked” (pork) katsudon recipe!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-katsudon/
I have a deep fried chicken katsu version here
https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-katsu-don/
Hope you enjoy!
May I ask why the temperature of the milk and water is so important since we are not activating the yeast? I do not have a thermometer so it is hard for me to judge what temperature my milk and water is at after I warm it up.
Hi Dannielle! I understand what you mean, but I see this often in Japanese recipes. If I find out why I’ll mention in the recipe. But basically it looks like it helps to keep the yeast alive even during the winter. It’s important to keep the temperature of the dough after kneading, and if I write precisely, depends on how you knead (with hand or machine), the temperature of water/milk should change also. If you live in a warm place, probably it is not necessary to heat up, but if you cook in AC, or in winter, it’s best to warm up. Hope this helps?
Hi Mui! Sorry I haven’t had the chance to check #justonecookbook on instagram lately. I’ll leave a comment when I get a chance. 🙂 Looks ABSOLUTELY adorable! You did wonderful job! Thanks for sharing the picture with us!
Hi Nami! I was wondering if I wanted to make Matcha Melon how much matcha would I put in the dough and cookie topping, or if I would need to alter the recipe in any way to accommodate it? Thanks!!
Hi Courtney! Oh that sounds wonderful! I haven’t tried adding matcha, but definitely you can. Hmm… I haven’t tried so I can’t give you measurement, but I heard that matcha makes it harder for the dough to rise so you might want to add yeast tiny bit more. Let me know how it goes. I want to make it one day too! 🙂 I think I’d start with small amount maybe 1 tsp and increase as you need? You should’t need to change the amount of flour for small amount of matcha.
Nami,
Boa tarde,
O que quer dizer AP no contexto:
Farinha de bolo: se você não tem farinha de bolo, você pode substituir com farinha e amido de milho. Veja como.
1 xícara de farinha AP – 2 colheres de sopa. Farinha AP + 2 colheres de sopa. Amido de milho = 1 xícara de farinha de bolo
Grato
JGoto
Hi Jorge! Sorry I don’t understand but you’re talking about the cake flour?
Hi Nami! Sorry for me but I did not quite understand “how to replace cake flour” …
In the text :
“1 cup AP flour – 2 tablespoons AP flour + 2 tablespoons Maize starch = 1 cup cake flour”
It would be: 1 cup cake flour equals => 1 cup flour + 2 tablespoons starch?
What does AP mean? I suppose it’s the abbreviation for some word, just like Tbsp = TableSpon …
Grateful!
Jorge Goto
Hi Jorge! It’s like this. 1) Prepare 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2) Remove 2 Tbsp of flour from it, 3) Add 2 Tbsp corn starch. So at the end you get 1 cup of cake flour. Hope this helps!
Hello Miss nami Im going to try out this Recipe But i have a question since i live in sweden and we dont have bread flour i have decided to make my own but i would like to know if normal all purpose flour works (or well in my case a bag of normal wheat flour) works as the bread dough flour?
if not then ill continue to make the “home made” bread flour mix
Thank you if you reply and also i thank you for the great recipes that you provide us that find this wonderful blog of yours -Sincerely John
Hi John! Bread flour means the flour with most gluten – opposite of cake flour which has less gluten. All purpose is between. Maybe the name is different but you must have it as you would use it to make bread (hence bread flour).
You “can” make with all purpose flour, but it lacks the bouncy strong texture that comes from gluten. I would notice if it’s made of all purpose flour, but maybe some people are okay with the texture if they don’t know what melon pan’s texture is like. 🙂
Hi Nami: I like the not-so-sweet bread crust except I couldn’t get the beautiful look. Do you know why my biscuit dough “coverings” cracked during the last proofing stage before being placed in the oven. I lost all the scored pattern as well.
Hi Christina! I think I know, as I had the same problem when I was testing. In my case, it was from over-proofing. I waited a bit too long, so it was expanded too much and lost nice score… Wait, but you said cracked… was it too dry maybe? Are those cracks are small? See Step 10, and left picture. The bottom melon pan has a big gap/crack. Is that your problem? My problem was that… when I left too long, there were too many of those big cracks…
Thank you Nami, I think you might have figured out the issue – over-proofing. I will try to reduce the proof time in the future.
Despite this setback, I loved the melon pans because of the crisp biscuit/cookie crust and the fact that they were not overly sweet.
Hi, Nami! I just found your blog, and am in love with it! <3 My melon pan is in the oven now! I can't wait to try it!
Do you have any idea about how long the bread will keep, or recommendations about freezing? I would like to give one to a friend, but won't see her until the weekend.
Thank you so much for publishing this, Nami! I'm looking forward to reading your other recipes! (^_^) – Dave
Hi Dave! You just found my blog and already made Melon Pan!! That made me very happy. Thank you so much! Hope yours came out well.
I never tried freezing them as they go by super fast in our family (especially after they come out of the oven)…. but I would put in ziplock bag after cooling down and then freeze. It will keep better than trying to keep in fridge etc. Should reheat in the oven just fine. Let me know how it goes (especially if that doesn’t work, so I can tell others not to do it). 🙂
Thanks again for writing!
Hello and thanks for the Recipe. If i was to add a Melon flavored syrup to this recipe in what step would it be added and how much do I use so it don’t over power the Bread/cookie. I was thinking of buying a Honeydew syrup from amazon but what would you recommend.
Hi Maurice! You will need to add the syrup with other wet ingredients. The amount… I’m not sure as I had never tried it. It probably depends on syrup too. Add gradually and test the recipe. You may need to test a few times till you know what’s the right amount. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 4 or 5 times. There are lots of steps, but it’s easy and fantastic. This time, I coated half of the bread dough balls with ginger jam, and the other half with Nutella. This helps the cookie dough to adhere to the bread dough, and it tastes awesome.
Hi Nikki! I knew someone will appreciate homemade melon pan (I often get comments like – “who has time for that?”). Thank you for making my day! Homemade melon pan is awesome. Especially when we can’t have access to Japanese melon pan… Wow ginger jam and nutella. That sounds heavenly! Thank you for your kind feedback, Nikki!
I love your recipes, they’re really good. I wanted to know which type of bread flour I should use?
Thanks so much!
Thank you Ila! Hmm I’m not sure what kind of types are available in your country, but this “bread flour” in the US is what we typically use to make all kinds of bread. We only have one kind of bread flour here, so I’m not too familiar with the different types of bread flour. In Japan, we have bread flour (also one kind) and called Kyorikiko 強力粉. It has the most gluten in the flour compared to other flours.
I really want to make this after a trip to Japan! Only concern is that it says if you use the oven to proof you’d then have to transfer to a warm place during oven preheat. Any ideas? Will it ruin the consistency if I have it at room temperature during the preheat? Thank you 🙂
Hi Britt! The doughs remain warm while preheating, but it does help if you could keep them warm (just avoid being cold) for a bit longer until the oven is ready.
Thank you!!!
Hi Nami!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just got back from a trip to Japan, where I ate melon pan every single day (and sometimes twice a day!) and was really missing it! This recipe is absolutely perfect and my family is already requesting more!
I have a silly question! Can you double the recipe and follow the same directions? Would I need to make two batches separately, or can I simply hand knead the dough all together and just make twice as many pans?
Thanks again! Love your blog!
Hi Kayla! Ahaha melon pan everyday sounds wonderful! I could eat Japanese bread every day, but I can’t pick ONE kind! I hope you had a great trip to Japan. 🙂
Yes, you can double it as long as you can handle it. You should not let the dough rise too long, for example. So you have to work quickly so the dough won’t over-proofed.
Thank you again for trying this recipe! Happy to hear you enjoy my blog. 🙂
I’ve made 30 melon bread, and they’re quite delicious, but they’re being served about 2 days from now. How should i store them to keep them from going stale?
Hi Barbara! I would keep in the airtight container or a ziploc bag to make sure the air is out. I think 2 days is okay. Hope you enjoy(ed) the homemade melon pan!
I made them! They were a big hit with my family; they didn’t understand how something could be this good! I was always worried in the past about making breads and rolls with yeast; they just never turned out for me, but wow did melon pan turn my life around! I’m so excited to continue baking Japanese goodies for my family! I always admired Japanese cuisine and I’m so confident I’ll be able to make it all delicious! Thank you so much for your very detailed recipe!! <3 much love
Hi Diana! How exciting! It’s such a good feeling to be successful at a challenging recipe! I’m happy for you and I’m glad to hear your family enjoyed it with you as well. 🙂 Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I want to continue baking more Japanese bread and dessert, but I’m taking a little break to lose some weight before crazy testing starts… I gained weight a lot from testing baked goods for my blog. HAHAHAHA.
I made these when I had a full day to myself and they were so delicious, it was a long process but so delicious, and my family really liked them as well.
Hi Sara! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I know, bread making takes a long time! But homemade bread is so nice when it comes out of the oven! 🙂
Your very welcome.
It definitely is worth it. I have failed so many times trying to make bread at home but your recipe really helped guide me to succeed in making the melon pan, with the little notes regarding the yeast and temperatures of the ingredients, and the video was super helpful along the the written steps.
Your website is my go to if I want to make japanese food and I love it.
Thank you for providing such an awesome resource.
Hi Sara! I’m really happy to hear that my instructions were helpful! I sometimes feel my long-written recipe can be intimidating (sometimes it can be too much info for simple things?) but I’m glad you found this recipe helpful! Thank you for your feedback!
Your very welcome. I look forward to more of your recipes. ^ – ^
I tried the recipe and it was really good! I love Melon Pan 🙂 I have a few questions for you about the ingredients so I understand what they are for. Why did add cake flour to the bread dough and baking powder for the cookie dough? Thanks and looking forward to our reply 🙂
Hi Aivory! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂 To answer your questions… I basically mixed bread flour and cake flour to get the right texture of the bread. It’s a pretty common method for Melon Pan (not my idea). And this cookie dough uses baking powder but some people don’t add it, it’s up to you. Here’s good article why we add baking powder: https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/12/cookie-science-baking-powder.html
Thank you so much!😊 Cheers!
Hello Nami,
When I make Melon Pan my cookie dough cracks and pull away from each other as the bread expands. How do you keep yours intact? Thanks!
Hi Aivory! I think your dough got over-proofed at that stage. Put it in the oven before it’s over-proofed? That may help. I had this experience once because I forgot about the melon pan and it expanded a bit crazy. 😀
I see. I made Melon Pan recently and it was just only 15mins proofing and the cookie dough had pulled away already. Anyways, I’m going to keep trying. Thanks for the response. I really appreciate it. All the best to you 🙂
Hi Aivory! It really depends on the temperature you are at, too. If it is cool, it takes a longer time to proof. 🙂 Good luck to you!
is that the baking powder is optional?
Hi Calvyn! It’s not. When it’s optional, I usually note next to it saying (optional). 🙂
Great recipe! Bread tastes amazing!
Are there any tips on preventing the topping from falling off the dough? Mine always seem to fall off every time I start cooking the dough. Do I need to let the bread rise longer before cooking? I also made sure that the topping is thin enough so it’s not too heavy on the dough.
Hi Jason! Thank you for your kind feedback! Seems like the bread is over-proofed? Do you mean “fall off” from the dough completely? Your dough seems like expanding a bit crazy. Is it possible to stop earlier? Maybe you live in a warmer environment. I live in cooler place so often times my bread doesn’t rise as fast. 🙂
My whole family was skeptical hearing me make melonpan so i halved the recipe at 1st and made them….as soon as it came out the oven it was gone in less than an hour :D….everyone loves it…even my mom loved it which is shocking so its that good!!
Hi Sarah! Hahahahaha! Aww you made me so happy! I’m glad your melon pan came out well and your family enjoyed them. Now they will beg you to make double portion. 😉 Thanks so much for your kind feedback. xoxo
I enjoyed watching your tutorial. It is an interesting bread. It doesn’t seem to brown at all. Is that the way it is supposed to bake? I may make a batch one of these days. I am just so busy.
Karen
Hi Karen! Thank you for your kind words. Maybe slightly golden on edges, but won’t be brown. 🙂
This recipe is great! I’ve made conchas in the past, and I liked them a lot, but I find melonpan to be a lot softer and more delicate. I want to save them for an event, but I also want to eat them all!!
Hi Hailey! Thank you for your sweet comment and feedback, Hailey! So happy to hear you like Melon Pan. 🙂
Hi Nami…… It’s look so delicious, I always want to make melon pan and I will try this recipe. How long I can store melon pan? Should I store in fridge or freezer?
Hi Momo! Thank you! I’d say refrigerator if you are going to finish in the next 24 hours. Otherwise, the freezer. 🙂
Ok, thank you Nami
We fell in love with Melon Pan when we visited Kyoto last year. We ate it at least once a day, plain or with ice cream. I’m so glad I found this recipe and can’t wait to try it. I love baking bread and find it very relaxing so I will make a point to make this over the weekend. This is time consuming but I’m sure worth the time. Thank you for teaching us how to make it!
Hi Yaya! I’m so glad you got to try Melon Pan in Japan. 🙂 Hope this homemade version is as good as what you had in Kyoto. 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Nami!
I am such a fan of your blog! My husband and I love visiting Japan and love Japanese food – we are actually supposed to be going to Takayama at the end of March (we will see what happens thought) and loved your four part piece about your trip there.
I tried making the melon pan today and ran into some trouble. I halved the recipe because I didn’t want to make too many that would go stale since it is just my husband and I. I followed all of your instructions. The only difference is that I do not have a proof setting on my oven and so I would let them rise either in the oven with the oven light on, or I put them in the microwave after having warmed something up, hoping that the residual heat would work.
I cooked them way longer than 15 minutes because they did not seem to be cooking. The outside biscuit layer seemed to cook fine, but the actually dough on the inside did not want to cook. I am not sure if it is because my dough didn’t rise enough or what. Any suggestions? I am pretty new to bread making so any advice would be appreciated!
Thank you!
Christine
Hi Christine! Aww thank you!!! I’m not sure if you’re still heading to Takayama, but it’s a beautiful place. I hope you get to visit one day…
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m sorry it didn’t turn out. A few things from reading your comment.
1) Make sure the yeast is new and alive. I’ve read some articles mentioning that even you get a new package from a grocery store, the yeast can be dead (what!). So if the bread dough doesn’t rise, it’s highly possible this is the case. I’ve seen mine never rise, and that time I never thought my yeast was the issue.
2) Make sure your yeast is not active yeast. If it is, you are supposed to activate it by warm water first. I do not use it because it’s not easy, so I use instant yeast which you can add to dry ingredients right away.
3) Sometimes it just takes a long time to rise. It could be 30 minutes more.
4) Any substitute you made with ingredients?
Hope this helps a bit…
Hi Nami,
Unfortunately we had to postpone our trip to Takayama due to everything going on, but we are going to definitely go there next time we are able to.
I will try these suggestions. I used instant yeast I believe, but I will double check next time and maybe just give it extra time to proof. I think that may have been the main issue.
Thank you!
Hi Christine! I’m sorry to hear that… but with this crazy time, I think your safety comes first. We are not sure about our summer yet too. Please keep me posted on your melon pan journey! 🙂
I’m not at all a cook (been cooking since the coronavirus outbreak, and before this I made chocolate covered strawberrries lol) but this was pretty manageable ! the instructions were great and i only had to google a handful of basic things (a big deal for a kitchen novice like me) and it came out pretty good! amazing job w this
Hi Ben! Wow, this is a huge compliment to me. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Yeah… I think a lot of people start to cook more at home due to this outbreak and stay-at-home order. Maybe you get to learn a few of your favorite dishes from the restaurant during this time. 🙂 I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy.
‘Melon Pan’ came up under my search feed for something else and I was intrigued because I had never heard of it before. After researching the limited recipes that I could find, I thought yours was comprehensive enough for me to follow. I did, and the results were fabulous!! I have limited experience with yeast baking, but I cannot believe how beautiful the rolls were and how delicious. I am making it again today because I measured out double ingredients and I want to try the mixer. The hand version was something else! It took me way longer to get to the right consistency. In fact, I hate to admit that after 10 minutes I had my husband take over. So today . . . the mixer!
Thank you so much for great instructions and a delicious recipe.
Hi Heidi! I’m so happy to hear your first melon pan came out well! Thanks so much for your kind feedback and I’m super excited for you! Oh yeah, hand kneading is… tiring and this recipe alone takes a long time too. The mixer makes it a lot easier and you may be willing to make it often. Haha.
Thank you for your kind feedback, Heidi!
Hello Nami 🙂 I tried making half batch and it turned out super soft in the centre and crispy on top!!! This is my first time so i’m very happy with the result. However, I don’t know why the bottom is burnt? Probably because i coated the bottom with sugar too?
Hi Stefany! Thank you for trying my recipe! And I’m so happy to hear your melon pan came out well.
That could be too, maybe caramelize and burn on the bottom. Also, a dark, nonstick cookie sheet can make the bottom of your melon pan (or cookies) burn. This is because a darker pan absorbs heat unevenly, cooking the bottoms of your melon pan before the remainder of the dough cooks. 🙂
I have made this today and it tastes (and looks!), wonderful. Thank you so much for the detailed recipe and videos. I am so impressed… perfect recipe!
Hi Silvia! I’m so happy to hear that your melon pan came out well. Thank you so much for trying my recipe! 🙂
Is it okay to put bread dough on the outside if you wanted to put chocolate chips in the biscuit or cookie dough?
Hi Hannah! Do you mean no cookie dough on the outside (basically you only have bread that contains chocolate chips)? Sure!
Hi Nami,
I just made this but for some reason my bread didn’t come out fully cooked throughout? Some parts were still a bit doughy. Did you use a conventional oven without fan or was it a convection oven (In your video)?
Hi Carissa! My oven has both options, but because not everyone has convection, I always use the conventional oven for all my recipes (I stated in my FAQs).
Now, is your internal oven accurate as what the oven displays? Often times, the actual temperature is not the same as what the oven says… so it’s important to keep the oven thermometer inside the oven.
Then next, do check doneness by inserting a wooden skewer. It should not be wet and the skewer should come out clean. 🙂
Hi Nami thank you for you reply 🙂 I don’t have an oven thermometer but next time I try this recipe again I will bake it for slightly longer – maybe 16 min instead of 14. Thank you for the very comprehensive and detailed recipe!
Hi Carissa! Hope the next one will come out perfectly. 🙂 Thank you again!
Hi Nami, I have a question about the variation you spoke about, the one with custard cream. Where and at which point should I put it in? I’m so excited to try that!
Hi Erica! First, you need to make custard that is almost like a paste form (not liquid – refrigerate to solidify). You roll out the dough and wrap the custard in this following step.
= SHAPING & BAKING =
After 15 minute of resting, flatten the main dough with your hand
and fold in thirds.and wrap the custard and twist to close the dough.Hope this helps!
Thank you so much!! ❤️❤️❤️ I love your recipes!!
Hope you enjoy the recipe! Thank you Erica!
Today I tried this recipe and they came out AMAZING!!!
Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Erica! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami, I’m so surprised that these Melon Pan are so manageable! Great job on writing such easy-to-follow recipes! ( We follow so many of your savoury recipes too 😀 )
Just one question, do you wrap the cookie dough all around the main dough before the second rise? Wouldn’t it crack as the main dough rises?
I didn’t have enough cookie dough when I tried so I just stuck them on top, more like the Hong Kong pineapple buns.
Hi Rosita! Thank you so much for your kind words and for trying this recipe!
Yes, it does, and you see the bread looks expanded on Step 8. We score on the cookie dough before the second rise, so if you leave it out too long, the gap (?) becomes wider (is that what you mean by “crack”?). Some readers told me before that she left it too long so the cookie dough also got too expanded. So just make sure not to over-proof. 🙂