Japan – Melonpan

by Zayna Khan

INTRODUCTION

This is a very special kind of cookie or bread. Sweet bun soft inside covered with crispy-crunchy cookie dough is the best thing for a snack as a biscuit, like a cookie, as a bun. This is made by very rich dough having eggs, honey, flour, milk, and a cookie coating for the exoticness and new flavors other than a normal ordinary bun. This is a sweet bun like a cake but more airy and fluffy to give a bun-like effect. Unlike cake, this is more airy but rich in flavors.

This is known as melonpan because of having the same shape like melon. These grooves are formed on the bun to make it look like a melon. This is more melon like in texture as having hard cookie dough with grooves and soft bun inside like a melon texture of hard core with soft fruit inside.

Melonpan is also known by many other names like the following :

• Melon pan
• Melon cake
• Melon cookie
• Melon bun
• Melon bread
• Melon fluffs, etc.

APPEARANCE OF MELONPAN

The appearance of this melonpan resembles the CANTALOUPE. Cantaloupe is also known as ROCK MELON. This is from the family of Muskmelon species. They are known for their Non-netted, orange-fleshed melon. Its peel is giving a net-like effect to the texture and appearance. So this bun is giving more appearance-wise and texture-wise resemblance to this cantaloupe.

This bread is just looking like a melon but not in taste. This is more like a resemblance of melon rather than taste. It has made up in many flavors like a cookie or bun of many flavors.

This bun is named as melonpan because of having melon texture and ”PAN” means ”bread”.

FLAVORS OF MELONPAN

This is more like a bun in texture but having many flavors to be added on to give exotic flavors and new tastes. We can add filling to this melonpan but this way is not traditional and giving a bun-like feeling. Flavors are given below:

• Chocolate flavor
• Chocolate chip flavor
• Strawberry flavor
• Vanilla flavor
• Orange flavor
• Matcha flavor
• Caramel flavor
• Lemon flavor, etc.

This bun is when utilize like a snack or a cookie, there are many compliment items to go with this bun and enhancing the flavors, like :

• Whipped cream
• Caramel
• Maple syrup
• chocolate syrup
• Icecream
• Custard cream, etc

VARIETIES OF MELONPAN

There are following types of the melonpan bun with different fillings and stuffing added.

1.SHIROAN MELONPAN

Shiroan is a white bean paste that gives a very creamy and custard effect to the melonpan when filled inside. This is the paste in which white kidney beans and adsuki beans boiled. The boiled beans paste is formed and sugar is added to make it sweeter and creamy fluffy. This cream is then filled into the melonpan bun and served.

2.ICECREAM MELONPAN

This is the basic bun formed with ice cream of different flavors added to make a sandwich. Ice cream sandwich is formed by melon pan bun is very delicious and palatable.

3.SUNRISE BREAD

In Taisho era, this bread is known by the different name, sunrise bread. Sunrise is more like giving grooves to the bread top for proper texture. The shape of the bread is round and having grooves like the sunrise.

4.KOPPEPAN

Koppepan is the same dish with same texture and same shape in Shikoku Island.

SIMILAR BREADS TO MELONPAN

• Pineapple bread in Taiwan, china.
• Soboro bread, Hongkong
• Rotiboy mexican coffeebean
• Conchas, sweet mexican bread.

INGREDIENTS OF MELONPAN

MAIN BUN DOUGH INGREDIENTS

• Self rising flour : 2 cups
• White flour : 1/2 cup
• Corn starch : 1/2 cup
• Butter : 250 grams
• Eggs : 3
• Salt : 1 teaspoon
• Yeast instant : 2 tablespoon
• Milk : 1 cup
• Sugar powder : 1/2 cup

COOKIE DOUGH INGREDIENTS

• Flour : 3/4 cup
• Sugar : 1/3 cup
• Butter : 4 tablespoon
• Chocolate chips : 1/2 cup
• Baking powder : 1 teaspoon
• Eggs : 1

TOPPING

• Chocolate syrup : 1 cup
• Caster sugar : 6 tablespoons

COOKING METHOD

• In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients of the main dough having flour, sugar, salt and sieve them three times.
• Mixture should be smooth so it can be easily fluffed and rise by the yeast.
• To activate the instant yeast, take yeast and add half cup of warm water into it. After 10 minutes add it into the bun mixture.
• Mix all the wet ingredients like milk, eggs and melted butter.
• Together all the wet and dry ingredients to make a smooth semi solid dough.
• Keep this dough in warm place so yeast will raise the dough after 15 minutes.
• In this time, make cookie dough. Add all the ingredients together and knead it properly.
• It takes less than 5 minutes to knead this dough and its ready to be cooked.
• When main dough is fluffed, make small balls of it.
• Now make equally sized balls of cookie dough and roll it flat.
• Place the main dough in flat cookie dough and secure it like a ball from all sides.
• Make these melonpans and now its time to add pattern similar to melon.
• Take knife or a thin rod and make grooves of it diagonally.
• Pre-heat the oven and bake it at 200 degree F for 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
• When cooked, drizzle the chocolate and sugar powder over the top and serve.
• ENJOY 🙂