Melon pan is a Japanese bread pastry popular around the world. Its name is from its resemblance to melon rind. The sugary cookie topping gives a nice crusty texture to the otherwise soft bread.
Ideally, melon pan is served warm with butter, jams or cream cheese on the side. This version, however, provides sweet ham and cheese as filling.
“It seems tedious to make because of the long process involved in making,” says Benedicto Hao. “But it’s all going to be worth your time and effort. The bread dough is quite easy to make.”
After mixing the bread dough ingredients together, let it rise until it’s double in size. While the dough is resting, you can make the cookie crust and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Hao’s melon pan version has no preservatives or dough conditioner. One can make variations with the filling, such as bacon, savory pork, chicken or what-have-you.
The recipe, he says, can be doubled or tripled depending on the capacity of your oven.
Best served the day it is baked.
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Melon Pan
Bread dough:
170 g bread flour (Pilmico)
25 g white sugar
2 g salt
20 g milk powder
3 g yeast
110 g ice-cold water
20 g butter (room temperature)
Cookie dough:
80 g all-purpose flour
30 g white sugar
2 g baking powder
1 beaten egg
30 g butter (room temperature)
Filling:
Nanay’s Premium Sliced Ham (Foodcrafters)
cheddar cheese, sliced
