Melon Bread

Sergey and I have visited Japan, and while there we discovered Melon Bread. It's fluffy as air inside and crispy on the outside. I can't make it as good, but I can make a good sweet bread along those lines with this.

Bread Dough Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup bread flour (plus extra to sprinkle)
• ¼ cup cake flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 ¼ tsp instant dry yeast
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 ½ tbsp whole milk (86 farenheit)
• 3 ½ tbsp water (86 farenheit)
• 2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, cut in small cubes at room temp

Biscuit Dough Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2cup + 2tbsp cake flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

Directions for bread dough:

1. Combine all dry ingredients for the bread dough thoroughly.
2. Warm the milk and water (separately) to 86 degrees.
3. Beat one large egg and add to the bowl. Add the warmed milk and water. Gently mix until combined. Use the dough to gather the rest of the flour off the bowl.
4. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 minutes.
5. Press and stretch dough out about 10 inches and put butter cubes on top. Roll the dough up to tuck the butter in and continue kneading until butter is incorporated. It will get VERY sticky, occasionally scrape remnants up and re-add to dough ball.
6. When dough is smooth, bang/slap dough onto the table and then fold it away from you. Do this repeatedly for 10 minutes. Do the “windowpane” test to see if the gluten developed enough. If the dough tears, repeat step 6 in 2 minute increments.
7. Shape dough into a ball. Place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Oven proof it at 85-100 degrees until dough has doubled in size.

Directions for biscuit dough:

1. Add butter to large bowl and mix with spatula until smooth. Add sugar and blend until smooth.
2. Slowly add tiny amounts of beaten egg to bowl. Blend well.
3. Sift cake flour and baking powder into the mixture. Mix with spatula until no longer floury.
4. Collect dough and form into a ball. Cut the dough into 10 EQUAL pieces.
5. Roll into 10 balls and place on parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Cover and set aside.

Directions for combining:

1. When bread dough has doubled, dust a finger in flour and poke it in the center of the dough. If the hole doesn’t close, you’re ready.
2. Transfer bread dough to lightly floured surface. Press dough flat to deflate. Fold in thirds inward, horizontally, then fold in thirds inward, vertically. Flip to put seam on the bottom. Repeat once, and then shape into a ball. Rotate ball, seam-side down, on the table to seal the ball.
3. Cut into 10 EQUAL sized pieces. Roll into 10 balls and place on parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Cover and let rest at room temp for 15 minutes.
4. Take the biscuit dough balls and chill them in the fridge for 10 minutes.
5. On lightly floured surface, flatten biscuit dough with your hand. With rolling pin, roll into 4 inch flat rounds.
6. Flatten bread dough with hands and fold into thirds twice (horizontal and vertical). Pinch the ends and shape into a ball.
7. Biscuit dough in hand, bread dough in the middle (seam side up), flip to other hand so biscuit dough is on top, and gently pull biscuit dough closed at the bottom to form a ball.
8. Dip and roll in small bowl of extra sugar (2 tbsp) until coated. Gently score ball in a crisscross pattern that doesn’t break the biscuit dough.
9. Place combined dough on baking sheet, seam side down, and cover with plastic wrap.
10. Proof dough at 85-100 degrees in the oven until 1.5 times the size (about 50 minutes). Remove from oven and remove plastic wrap.
11. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
12. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Taken from Just One Cookbook’s Melon Pan recipe.