Learn how to make freshly baked Melon Pan in your own kitchen! This classic Japanese sweet bread is covered in a thin and crisp cookie (biscuit) crust with a signature gridline pattern on top. Knead it either by hand or with a stand mixer.
Do you think about the foods that you used to enjoy in your childhood and still long for them once in a while? Japanese sweet bread, or what we call kashi pan (菓子パン), 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 sweet breads; therefore I had to learn to make them myself. Today I’ll show you how to make Melon Pan with both the hand-kneading method as well as the stand mixer method.
What is Melon Pan?
Melon Pan is sweet bread covered in a thin layer of crisp biscuit crust with a crisscross 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? Traditionally, the bread does not include melon or its flavor. So why did it end up with this name?
There are a few different theories for the origin of this sweet bread’s name, but there’s 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 parallel lines on the crust and was filled with sweet white bean paste called shiroan inside. During that time, the oriental melon was sold as “melon” so they started to call this “Melon Pan.”
In Taisho Era, a 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) a 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. Our local Andersen bakery that started in Hiroshima also calls their Melon Pan “Sunrise”. In Shikoku Island, it’s called “Koppepan (コッペパン)”.
Other theories on the origin of the name say 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 name’s origin one day. Who knew this is quite a mysterious bread?!
How to Make Melon Pan
The Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Bread Dough
- Bread flour – Weigh your flour using a kitchen scale or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off.
- Cake flour – Learn more about cake flour and how you can make it using all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast
- Large egg
- Whole milk – I highly recommend using fullfat milk for this recipe.
- Water
- Unsalted butter
For the Biscuit Dough
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large egg
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
Hand Kneading Method
Stand Mixer Method
Variations of Melon Pan
There are some varieties 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 version with classic ingredients.
Bread Similar to Melon Pan in the World
Does your country have similar bread to Melon Pan?
- 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
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Melon Pan
Video
Ingredients
For the Bread Dough
- 1¾ cups bread flour (1¾ cups + 2 Tbsp, to be precise; plus more for dusting; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 3½ Tbsp cake flour (weigh your flour; you can make Homemade Cake Flour)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1¼ tsp instant yeast (for active dry yeast, see Notes)
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) (beaten)
- 3 Tbsp whole milk (3 Tbsp + 1 tsp, to be precise; at 86ºF/30ºC)
- 3 Tbsp water (3 Tbsp + 1 tsp, to be precise; at 86ºF/30ºC)
- 2½ Tbsp unsalted butter (cubed; at room temperature)
For the Biscuit Dough
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick or 4 Tbsp; cubed; at room temperature)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) (beaten)
- 1⅔ cups cake flour (weigh your flour; you can make Homemade Cake Flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the Topping
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Before You Start: I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric" button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients. I have 2 videos to help you with this recipe: The hand-kneading method and the stand mixer method. Once you‘ve made the bread dough and biscuit dough—either by hand or using a stand mixer—proceed to Steps 3–5.
★ For the Hand-Kneading Method (Steps 1 & 2) ★
Step 1: To Make the Bread Dough
- Mix: To a large bowl, add the first four dry ingredients for the bread dough—1¾ cups bread flour, 3½ Tbsp cake flour, 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and 3 Tbsp granulated sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Next, add 1¼ tsp instant yeast to the bowl and whisk to combine. Then, add 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), beaten.
- Add 3 Tbsp whole milk and 3 Tbsp water, both at 86ºF (30ºC). Using a silicone spatula or your fingertips, gently mix the ingredients together until combined. Tip: I highly recommend using whole milk instead of reduced-fat milk.
- In the beginning, the dough will feel very sticky and wet, but keep mixing until it forms a loose, sticky ball. This step should take about 2 minutes. Also, use the dough ball to pick up any flour on the sides of the mixing bowl. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a work surface lightly dusted with bread flour.
- Knead: To knead the dough, press the heels of your hands into the dough, pushing forward slightly. Fold down the top half of the dough back toward you. Then, rock forward on the lower part of your palm to press it flat and away from you.
- Rotate the dough clockwise slightly, fold the dough down in half, and rock into it again with the lower part of your palm. Knead the dough to lengthen and stretch the gluten strands to make the dough more elastic. Repeat this rotate, fold, and knead process for 5 minutes or so. Tip: Lightly dust your hands with bread flour to keep the dough from sticking too much. If it's still too sticky to knead, sprinkle a tiny bit of bread flour on top and work it into the dough. Add only the minimum necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your hands, as adding too much flour will make the dough dry and hard. Aim for a moist, soft dough that is smooth and pliable and holds a ball shape.
- Add the Butter: After kneading for 5 minutes, the dough will get more elastic. Next, press and stretch the dough until it‘s a flat log about 10 inches (25 cm) long. Put the small cubes of 2½ Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature) all over the top of the dough. Roll up the dough, tucking in the butter. Then, continue to knead as before.
- Your hands, the dough, and the work surface will get greasy and messy in the beginning. Don‘t panic; the dough will eventually absorb the butter as you continue to knead. I recommend using a metal or silicone dough scraper once in a while to collect the dough stuck on the work surface. Keep kneading.
- Slam and Fold: Once the dough becomes very smooth and easy to work with, “slam and fold“ the dough to further develop its gluten (elasticity). First, hold one end of the dough and slam the other end onto the work surface. Bang! Next, fold the bottom end up and over away from you. Then, knead the dough with the lower part of your palm. Pick up the dough, turn it 90 degrees, then repeat this slam-and-fold process. Continue for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, supple, and silky. Tip: Don’t let go of the dough when you are banging it onto the work surface and don’t let it rest for too long between turns.
- The Windowpane Test: When the dough feels silky and smooth, it‘s time for the windowpane test to see if the dough‘s gluten is well developed. Either pull on a part of the dough or tear off a small piece. Hold the dough in both hands and gently pull it into a square with your fingers. It should be very elastic, smooth, and shiny. If it‘s strong enough to stretch to a super-thin membrane without tearing and light can pass through the center, your dough passes the test. If the dough tears easily or doesn‘t stretch, the gluten isn’t quite ready yet. Knead it again for another 2 minutes and test again.
- Form the dough into a ball by pulling and tucking all edges toward the bottom and pinching them together. Place the dough in a bowl with the seam side down.
- Bulk Fermentation: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1–2 hours. I use the Proof setting (100ºF/38ºC) in my oven. Tip: If you live in a cooler environment and your oven doesn't have a Proof setting, place small baking dishes of boiling water at the four corners on the lower-middle rack. Then, place your dough in a bowl in the center of the rack and close the door. The steam and heat from the boiling water will create a warm environment for bulk fermentation. If you live in a warmer environment, you may not need to do this; your proof time also may be shorter.
Step 2: To Make the Biscuit Dough
- Mix: To a large bowl, add the small cubes of ¼ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) and mash it with the silicone spatula until it becomes smooth.
- Add ½ cup granulated sugar to the butter. Mix with the silicone spatula until well blended.
- Slowly add a very small amount of 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), beaten, to the bowl and blend well with the butter mixture. Then, add another small amount of the beaten egg and blend. Continue until all the egg is well incorporated.
- Sift 1⅔ cups cake flour and ½ tsp baking powder into the mixture.
- Using the silicone spatula, mix well until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Collect the dough with your hands and roll it into a ball.
- Divide: Weigh the biscuit dough on a scale. The total dough weight for 10 melon pan should be around 400–410 g. Remember this weight, as you’ll need it later to measure one-tenth portions of the dough.
- Roughly cut the dough into 10 pieces for 10 melon pan.
- Divide the total dough weight by 10 (for 10 melon pan) to get the target weight of each dough piece (in my case, 40–41 g). Weigh the biggest piece first. Pinch off some dough if it‘s heavier than the target weight, then weigh again. Repeat until the dough piece reaches the target weight. Repeat with the other dough pieces, pinching off a bit of dough from a larger piece or adding some to a smaller piece by stuffing some dough inside.
- Pre-Shape: Roll the 10 pieces of biscuit dough into 10 balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes until it hardens a bit so it‘s easier to handle. Then, proceed to Step 3: To Divide and Pre-Shape the Bread Dough.
★ For the Stand Mixer Method (Steps 1 & 2) ★
Step 1: To Make the Bread Dough
- Mix: In a stand mixer bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the bread dough—1¾ cups bread flour, 3½ Tbsp cake flour, 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, and 1¼ tsp instant yeast. Mix together with a hand whisk.
- Set the mixer bowl on the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- Add 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), beaten, to the dry ingredients. Then, add the 3 Tbsp whole milk and 3 Tbsp water, both at 86ºF (30ºC). Tip: I highly recommend using whole milk instead of reduced-fat milk.
- Start the mixer on low speed (Speed 2) to combine the ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple of times.
- Continue to mix until the dough clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl.
- Add the Butter and Knead: Once the dough starts to come together, add the small cubes of 2½ Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature). Continue to stir on low speed until the butter is incorporated and no streaks remain. Then, increase the speed to medium (Speed 4 or 6) and knead until the dough is silky, smooth, and elastic.
- The Windowpane Test: When the dough gets silky and smooth, stop the mixer and use the windowpane test to see if the dough's gluten is well developed. Either pull on a part of the dough or tear off a small piece. Hold the dough in both hands and gently pull it into a square with your fingers. It should be very elastic, smooth, and shiny. If it's strong enough to stretch to a super-thin membrane without tearing and light can pass through the center, your dough passes the test. If the dough tears easily or doesn't stretch, the gluten isn’t quite ready yet. Knead the dough for another 2 minutes and test again.
- Form the dough into a ball by pulling and tucking all edges toward the bottom and pinching them together. Place the dough in a bowl with the seam side down.
- Bulk Fermentation: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1–2 hours. I use the Proof setting (100ºF/38ºC) in my oven. Tip: If you live in a cooler environment and your oven doesn't have a Proof setting, place small baking dishes of boiling water at the four corners on the lower-middle rack. Then, place your dough in a bowl in the center of the rack and close the door. The steam and heat from the boiling water will create a warm environment for bulk fermentation. If you live in a warmer environment, you may not need to do this; your proof time also may be shorter.
Step 2: To Make the Biscuit Dough
- Mix: Set a clean mixer bowl on the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the small cubes of ¼ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) and ½ cup granulated sugar to the mixer bowl.
- Stir the butter and sugar on medium low (Speed 4) until well blended and smooth.
- Slowly add a very small amount of 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), beaten, to the bowl and blend well with the butter mixture. Then, add another small amount of the beaten egg and blend. Continue until all the egg is well incorporated.
- Sift 1⅔ cups cake flour and ½ tsp baking powder into the mixture.
- Mix well until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, then stop the mixer. Take out the dough and form it into a ball with your hands.
- Divide: Weigh the biscuit dough on a scale. The total dough weight for 10 melon pan should be around 400–410 g. Remember this weight, as you’ll need it later to measure one-tenth portions of the dough.
- For 10 melon pan, roughly cut the dough into 10 pieces.
- Divide the total dough weight by 10 (for 10 melon pan) to get the target weight of each dough piece (in my case, 40–41 g). Weigh the biggest piece first. Pinch off some dough if it‘s heavier than the target weight, then weigh again. Repeat until the dough piece reaches the target weight. Repeat with the other dough pieces, pinching off a bit of dough from a larger piece or adding some to a smaller piece by stuffing it inside.
- Pre-Shape: Roll the 10 pieces of biscuit dough into 10 balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes until it hardens a bit so it‘s easier to handle. Then, proceed to Step 3: To Divide and Pre-Shape the Bread Dough.
★ For Both Hand-Kneading and Stand Mixer Methods (Steps 3, 4, & 5) ★
Step 3: To Divide and Pre-Shape the Bread Dough
- The Finger Test: Once the dough has doubled in size, dust your index finger with flour and use it to poke the center of the dough. If the hole does not close up when you remove your finger, then the dough is ready for the next step. If the dough closes up immediately, then proof the dough a little longer.
- Deflate and Roll: Remove the dough from the bowl with a silicone scraper and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough with your hands to release any gas in the dough and deflate it.
- Fold in the sides of the dough in thirds, and then fold the bottom and top in thirds. Flip over to keep the seam side down. Roll 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.
- Divide: Measure the total weight of the bread dough. It should weigh around 460–470 g for 10 melon pan. Remember the weight, as you’ll need it later to measure one-tenth portions of the dough.
- Using a dough scraper, roughly cut the dough into 10 equal pieces for 10 melon pan. Divide the total dough weight by 10 (for 10 melon pan) to determine the target weight of each dough piece (in my case, 46–47 g). Weigh the biggest piece first. Pinch off some dough if it‘s heavier than the target weight, then weigh again. Repeat until the dough piece reaches the target weight.
- Repeat with the other dough pieces, pinching off a bit of dough from a larger piece or adding some dough to a smaller piece by stuffing it inside. Knead to combine well. Pre-shape each dough piece into a nice round ball, pulling from all the sides and tuck the edges into the bottom. Place the dough on the palm of your non-dominant hand, and rotate it with your dominant hand, keeping the seam side on the bottom.
- Rest: Put the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Cover the dough with plastic wrap (I use a portable cupcake holder lid) to prevent it from drying. Rest the dough for 15 minutes at room temperature.
Step 4: To Shape the Melon Pan
- Roll the Biscuit Dough: While the bread dough is resting, shape the biscuit dough. Put one ball of the biscuit dough on a lightly floured work surface and flatten it with your hand.
- Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a 4-inch (10–12 cm) flat circle. Set aside. Continue to roll out the rest of the biscuit dough pieces.
- Shape the Bread Dough: After 15 minutes of resting, the bread dough is ready to shape. First, flatten a ball of bread dough with your hand. Then, fold the top and bottom in thirds.
- Then fold in the left and right sides in thirds. Pinch both ends together to shape the dough into a ball.
- Pull the dough from all sides towards the seam on the bottom. Place the bread dough on the palm of your non-dominant hand and rotate it with your dominant hand a few times, keeping the seam side on the bottom. Set aside. Repeat to shape the remaining balls of bread dough.
- Assemble the Melon Pan: To shape the melon pan, place a biscuit dough circle on your palm and put the bread dough ball in the middle, seam side up.
- Then flip them over together to show the biscuit dough on top. Gently pull all sides of the biscuit dough down to wrap around the bread dough. Don’t cover the base of the bread dough ball with the biscuit dough. Set aside and repeat to shape the rest of the melon pan dough.
- Add the Sugar Topping and Score: Put 2 Tbsp granulated sugar for the topping in a small bowl. Dip to coat the biscuit dough in the sugar and remove the excess sugar. Using a dough scraper or knife, gently score the biscuit dough in a crisscross pattern, about ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep. I scored 3 lines horizontally and 3 lines vertically. Repeat with the rest of the melon pan dough.
- Place the melon pan dough on the baking sheet, seam side down. Cover the dough with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying.
- Final Proof: Let the dough rise in a warm place until it increases one-and-a-half (1½) times in size, for about 50 minutes. I used the Proof setting (100ºF/38ºC) in my oven.
- Preheat the Oven: When the dough has risen halfway, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Make sure to set the oven rack in the middle position. Note: If you are using the oven for final proofing, you have to transfer the dough to a different warm place so you can preheat the oven.
Step 5: To Bake the Melon Pan
- When the oven is preheated well, remove the plastic wrap and place the baking sheet with the melon pan dough in the oven. Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 13-15 minutes, or until the biscuit crust is a light golden brown. Toward the end of baking, if the melon pan are not browning evenly, rotate the tray once so that the crust gets an even color. Do not overbake, or the melon pan will be dry.
- Once the melon pan are done baking, remove them from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let it cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy!
To Store
- Once the bread is cooled completely, individually wrap it in plastic to prevent drying. Then, put it in an airtight container or bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or microwave to warm up inside. Then, bake it in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) until crispy on the outside.
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. 🙂
[…] breakfast next day. It’s hard to make a choice, but some of my all-time favorites include Melon Pan, Anpan, Yakisoba Pan, and Korokke Pan which I’ve shared the recipes with you. Today […]
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!!!
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’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!
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. 🙂
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!
Tried this recipe multiple times and they all came out great; thanks for making such a wonderful recipe. I wanted to try making the biscuit dough chocolate flavored, so how much cocoa powder would I put into it? Thank you!
Hi Angel! Thank you so much for trying this recipe many times! I’m so glad yours came out well! I’d say start with small amount, like 1-2 Tbsp?
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.
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! 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!
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! 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.
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!
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?
Temperature is an important factor in the rising of bread. When you start with hot water/milk instead of cold, it starts the bread dough at a proper temperature for yeast growth, which helps the bread rise. If the water is cold, the dough will be cold and take longer to rise. You can measure the temperature of the water just by dipping a finger. You want it just so it feels warm to the touch.
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!