Melonpan
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
メロンパン · meronpan
A soft sweet bun wearing a crisp, sugar-crusted cookie shell scored in a criss-cross pattern that looks like a melon rind. There is no melon in the classic version.
Melonpan is a Japanese bread, ready in about 2 hours 55 minutes and made with bread flour and unsalted butter. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 1 h 50 min
- Total
- 2 h 55 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 311
Ingredients
For the cookie crust
For coating
Method
Step 1
Make the crust: beat the butter and sugar (opens in a new tab) until creamy, beat in the egg (opens in a new tab) a little at a time with the vanilla (opens in a new tab), then fold in the flour and baking powder (opens in a new tab) to a soft cookie dough. Wrap and chill 30 minutes or more.
Step 2
Make the bread dough: mix flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), yeast, salt and milk (opens in a new tab) and knead 5 minutes, add the butter and knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave until doubled, about 60 minutes.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 3
Divide the dough into 8 and round tightly; rest 10 minutes. Divide the cookie dough into 8 and roll each between two sheets of baking paper into a 10 cm disc.
- 15 min
Step 4
Lay a cookie disc over each bun and cup it down the sides, leaving the base uncovered. Press the top into the coating sugar (opens in a new tab), then score a criss-cross pattern lightly with the back of a knife.
Step 5
Proof on a lined tray about 40 minutes at warm room temperature (not too hot or the butter crust melts) until 1.5 times the size. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C.
- 40 min
- 180°C
Step 6
Bake 13–15 minutes until the crust is set, crackled and pale gold. Cool on the tray 5 minutes, then a rack.
About this dish
- Origin
- Japan · Commonly attributedAlso popular in TaiwanMore food from Japan
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Breads & flatbreads · Sweets & confectionery
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- sweet, buttery, mild
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Child-friendly · Portable / lunchbox
- Cook more with
- Bread flour · Unsalted butter · Sugar · Instant yeast · Milk · Egg
- Techniques
- Baking · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
311 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 90 g · recipe makes 8
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 9%
- Carbohydrate 65%
- Fat 26%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 311 kcal | 345 kcal |
| Protein | 7.1 g | 7.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 50.1 g | 55.6 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 48.7 g | 54.2 g |
| Sugars | 14.9 g | 16.5 g |
| Added sugars | 13.8 g | 15.3 g |
| Fibre | 1.3 g | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 9 g | 10 g |
| Saturated fat | 5.1 g | 5.6 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 44 mg | 49 mg |
| Sodium | 228 mg | 253 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 0.6 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 90 mg
- Calcium
- 42 mg
- Iron
- 2.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 15 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 78 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.4 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 153 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Score shallowly; deep cuts open into wide canyons as the bun rises.
Common mistakes
- Proofing somewhere very warm melts the cookie crust before baking.
Serve with
- Best eaten the day it is baked while the shell is crisp.
Storage
- Airtight 1–2 days; the crust softens over time.
Reheating
- Crisp the crust at 170 °C for 4 minutes.
Variations
- Matcha melonpan: Replace 10 g of the crust flour with matcha.
- Chocolate chip melonpan: Knead chocolate chips into the bread dough.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 50 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Rest · about 10 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Final proof · about 40 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 15 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 2 h 55 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 130 g | 100% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 60 g | 46.2% |
| Unsalted butter | Fat | 50 g | 38.5% |
| Egg | Egg | 50 g | 38.5% |
| Vanilla extract | Other | 2 g | 1.7% |
| Baking powder | Raising agent | 1 g | 0.8% |
- Total flour
- 130 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 28.8%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Sugar 46.2% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
- Fat 38.5% — a rich, tender dough.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Anpan (sweet red bean buns)
Japanese · 2 h 45 min · 266 kcal · Contains egg
Conchas (Mexican sweet bread)
Mexican · 3 h 40 min · 316 kcal · Contains eggJapanese milk bread (tangzhong shokupan)
Japanese · 4 h 5 min · 158 kcal · Contains egg
Pineapple bun (bo lo bao)
Hong Kong · 2 h 36 min · 346 kcal · Contains egg