Melon Pan: the easy recipe for the sweet Japanese melon-shaped bread

Who doesn’t love freshly baked bread? And even more so when it’s got the crunch of cookie dough. Melon pan is a classic Japanese sweet bread made to look like a melon with grid lines on top. Some stores like those in Tokyo Disneyland in Japan even sell a green variation to resemble real melons.

These melon-shaped breads are also known as kashi pan, which combines the two words for a snack (kashi) and bread (pan). To make it a bread dough is wrapped inside a crunchy cookie or biscuit dough. Despite its name, it has no melon flavor, and rather has a sweet brioche flavor. Each bite is crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.

What Is Melon Pan?

Japanese melon Pan is a sweet bread wrapped in a layer of crisp biscuit/cookie dough, created to look like a melon with a grid line pattern on top. It’s sold in stores all over Japan, and some stores make their melon pans look like real melons by coloring them green.

It’s also known as kashi pan, combining the two words for snack (kashi) and bread (pan). It’s called this way because a bread dough is wrapped inside a crunchy cookie (or biscuit) dough.

Melon pan is similar to Mexican conchas, but the has a higher cookie-to-bread ratio and is somewhat sweeter.

How To Make Melon Pan

Making the Japanese melon pan is easier than you may think. Simply follow these steps to make it perfect.

Making the dough

To make the dough, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the milk, and mix to form a dough. Add butter and knead the dough until it is smooth. Allow resting for 1 hour. Divide the dough into six balls and cover then rest for another 15 minutes.

Making the cookie dough

To make the cookie dough, mix the powdered sugar with softened butter until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix again. Finally, add the flour and baking powder and give it a final mix to form a dough. Divide into six balls and leave them covered for 1 hour.

Assembling melon pan

Place the cookie dough ball between two sheets of clingfilm. Press it to form a circle. Remove the clingfilm, and place the dough ball on top. Close the ball, dip in sugar, then use a grater to form grid lines. Rest for another hour.

Baking melon pan

Bake it at 180°C/350°F for 15-17 minutes. Serve.

Melon Pan Variations

You can actually make a melon pan to taste like a melon by adding pureed melon or melon syrup.

Add matcha powder to the cookie dough to create green melon pans.

Flavors like cinnamon, chocolate, matcha, strawberry, and maple will all go well with the melon pan.

Add food coloring to the cookie dough for a colorful twist.

Tips For Japanese Melon-Shaped Bread

To prevent the cookie dough from cracking while rising or baking, don’t press the grid pattern too deep. Just press it lightly. If the baking temperature is too high, this will also cause cracking.

To make the melon pan in the Airfryer, bake in a preheated Airfryer at 140°C for 15 minutes

How To Store Japanese Melon Pan

Japanese Melon Pan is best served fresh out of the oven. Store leftover melon pan in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Instructions

For the crust: In a bowl put the softened butter and add powdered sugar. Mix until it is soft and then add whisked egg and vanilla.

Mix it and add flour and baking powder.

Divide into six balls and leave them covered for 1 hour.

For the dough: In a bowl add flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix and then add milk.

Mix well and then knead it. Add butter and knead until it is smooth. Let it rest for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into six balls and cover them for another 15 minutes.

Between two pieces of the stretch film put the crust ball. Press it with a glass and make a circle.

Remove the stretch film and add the dough ball.

Make a ball of these and put them in sugar. Make cuts on the top and add them to a pan.

Leave them again for 1 hour.

Bake it at 180C for 15-17 minutes. Serve.

Notes

Use a stand mixer with a kneading attachment if you find that the dough is too sticky.