Melon Pan

Since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown I have possibly baked more bread than I have done in the space of a year (maybe even two!) Which is ironic, considering there is still a bit of a shortage of flour in the shops but then I decided to go to a wholesalers and bought a whopping 16kg bag of bread flour so I could bake to my heart's content. (Or until the packets of yeast I've got runs out anyway.) And in the event of yeast running out I have also started to experiment with sourdough bread which in all honesty I'm still trying to get my head around. On one hand it's quite straight forward but on the other hand it's quite technical. There's literally websites upon websites on sourdough making, hydration levels, flour types and the list goes on and on. It's a completely new thing to me but I digress...

The bread that created the 'opened a tin of worms' moment was a Shokupan recipe that I stumbled across on Dreams of Dashi. Shokupan for those who don't know is a fluffy Japanese white bread loaf. Unfortunately for me, I've never tried an actual Shokupan but I can only imagine is reminiscent of the bread that can be found in Chinese bakeries. So I gave it a bash and it turned out beauuutiful. So soft, so pillowy- lovely eaten on it's own, as a sandwich or toasted with a little butter and jam spread on top for breakfast. To me it tastes like a really light brioche bread but way more fluffier.

The recipe utilised the water roux tangzhong method- a method whereby you cook part of the flour with water and/or milk to create a kind of paste which is added to the main dough. The idea is that the cooked flour retains that moisture resulting in a bread that stays soft and fluffy for the next couple of days. This tangzhong method of baking bread has been around for quite sometime but I've noticed it's become popularised by many food bloggers/ instagrammers recently. 

Moving onto Melon Pan. 'Pan' meaning bread in Japanese- Melon Pan is a fluffy bread roll topped with a buttery cookie crust. The bread getting the 'Melon' name from the pattern that is scored on top prior to baking. Similar to the Chinese version - Pineapple Bun- neither of these breads have any fruit in it although there are versions of Melon Pan nowadays that have melon flavoured cream fillings. Both consist of a soft bread base with a cookie like crust on top. Again, I've never tried an actual Melon Pan but based this version on Just One Cookbook's recipe so I can only assume this resembles somewhat similar at least to the real thing...

There are two key things to making this bread soft and fluffy:

1. The tangzhong - cook the flour and water mixture over a low to medium heat on the stove - keep whisking/ stirring until a thick custard/pudding texture. I like to make a batch of tangzhong and store in the fridge if I know I'm making more bread in the next few days. Using 1 part water to 5 parts liquid- whether it be water or milk or both (sometimes I like to do half and half.)

2. Knead the dough until window pane stage (this is crucial for the texture) where if you take a bit of dough and stretch it won't break and form a thin 'membrane' that you are able to see the light through. Kneading to this stage ensures that the gluten has fully developed. As demonstrated here:

I have to say- it really does help if you have a stand mixer or a bread machine to help you do the kneading as the dough is quite sticky. You can do this by hand if you don't mind a bit of mess or if you fancy an arm workout!

Tangzhong that I made as part of a bigger batch. (Easier to cook this way than small batch)

I've combined Dreams of Dashi's Shokupan recipe with the cookie topping of Just One Cookbook's Melon Pan recipe and created this version of Melon Pan. May have to play around with the sizes- the ones I've made are quite - ahem - sizeable but it's been well received by my human guinea pig testers and only makes me wish I lived near an Asian bakery so I can have delicious breads like this everyday! (Or then again maybe not because I'll just get very fat...)

MELON PAN
Bread based on Dream of Dashi Shokupan
Cookie topping based on Just One Cookbook 
Yields around 12- you can make smaller size melon pan if you wish.

Bread dough
20g bread flour (for the tangzhong)
100ml water (for the tangzhong)
350g bread flour
30g caster sugar
4g fast action dried yeast (or 8g fresh yeast)
7g salt
1 medium egg (around 50g - don't worry if it's a little more)
95ml  water
20g butter, room temperature

Topping
90g butter, room temperature
150g sugar
75g egg, beaten
280g plain flour
20g corn flour
3g baking powder (a little over 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. First make the tangzhong. In a small saucepan, mix the 20g bread flour and 100ml water until smooth and lump free. Tip: I either blend it in my smoothie maker prior or put it in an empty jam jar, lid tightly on and give it a good shake to get rid of the lumps before pouring into the saucepan. Heat on a low to medium heat, constantly stirring until thickened to a pudding/thick custard texture- be particularly mindful of the edges as they'll cook quick! Take off the heat and set aside to cool. 
2. Place the rest of the bread dough ingredients apart from the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and add the tangzhong - if the tangzhong is still slightly warm this is fine. Just don't want it hot enough to scramble the egg/ kill the yeast.
3. Set to mix for 5 mins on low (this is around number 2 on the Kitchenaid) before adding the butter. Turn the mixer to medium speed (around number 4 on the Kitchenaid) and knead for 12-15mins until dough passes the window pane test.
4. Once the dough is ready, shape into a ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and let proof in a warm place for around an hour to hour and a half or until the dough is double in size. This may be longer depending on how hot/cold your house is.
5. Make the cookie topping. Sift the plain flour, corn flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. 
6. Add the the sifted dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated and there are no floury bits left. Gather into a ball and divide into 12 pieces- should be around 50g each. Roll each portion into a ball and place on a baking sheet/ plate, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to firm up.
7. Once the bread dough has doubled in size, deflate with your hands and tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out with a floured rolling pin, fold the dough in thirds before rolling out again and repeating folding in thirds again. Shape into a ball, cover and rest for 20mins to relax the gluten. In the meantime take the cookie dough portions out of the fridge.
8. Divide the bread dough into 12 pieces - should be around 50-55g each. Shape into a tight ball by pulling the edges and tucking/pinching into the centre. Finish shaping by rolling and gently pressing in the hollow of your palm against the lightly floured work surface, keeping the seam side down.
9. Dust the work surface with a little flour and roll out the cookie dough portions into a disc around 10-12cm wide. Place on top of a portion of bread dough, wrapping the edges of the cookie underneath the ball of bread dough. Trim excess cookie if needed. Using a dough scraper/ back of a knife, gently score a criss cross pattern on the top - be careful not to cut too deep otherwise the dough whilst proofing will pull the cookie apart.
10. Place on a lined baking tray, loosely cover with cling film and let proof in a warm place until the melon pan is 1.5 times in size, around 1 hour but again this may be longer depending on how warm/cold your house is.
11. Preheat oven to 180°C and bake the melon pan for 13-15mins until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:

• Highly recommend referring to Just One Cookbook and Dreams of Dashi's websites prior to making this melon pan as they have much more detailed step by step photos on how to make the bread and will give you a good visual aid of what things should look like!