Melonpan aka Melon Bread / Melon Bun

Cookie Dough:
25g unsalted butter ~ room temperature
35g sugar
25g beaten egg
80g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp melon flavor (optional)
(Bread flour for dusting)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk the butter until creamy.  Gradually add the sugar & mix.  Once the batter turn white, add beaten egg slowly.
2. Add the sifted flour & baking powder, mix with a spatula till it becomes a soft dough.  Then wrap the dough in a cylinder shaped with plastic wrap & placed in the fridge for an hour.
3. Divide the cookie dough into 5 equal pieces, roll the cookie dough into a ball & flatten the dough into 3-1/2 diameter.  Place the round cookie dough on a baking sheet & cover with plastic wrap, placed in the fridge.

Bread Dough:

140g Bread flour

25g sugar

1/3 tsp salt

5g Non-fat dry milk powder

3g instant yeast

1 tbsp beaten egg

70ml warm water

15g butter

(Bread flour for dusting)

Directions:

1. In another bowl, add bread flour, sugar, salt, dry milk powder & instant yeast, whisk to combine.
2. Add the beaten egg into warm water, gradually add into the dry ingredients & mix into a soft dough.
3. Knead the dough on the counter surface using hand, repeat the kneading till dough is less sticky.   Flatten the dough & spread the butter on it.   Gather the dough to the center & knead again till all the butter well corporate into the smooth & glossy dough.
4. Form a ball & place it in the bowl & cover with a plastic wrap, let it sit in a warm place for 40 mins.   The dough must have risen by 50% in volume.
5. After 40 mins, dip your finger in bread flour & poke a hole in the dough, if the hole disappears quickly, it needs more fermentation.
6. Divide & weight the dough into equal pieces.  Roll into ball shape & line up on a cooking tray dusted with flour.  Cover the tray with a plastic wrap & let it sit for 20 mins.

Assemble:

1. Take the round cookie dough, wrap around the bread dough, leave a gap underneath so that the bread may expand.
2. Then dip the shaped dough into the sugar & hold the melonpan in your palm & make a diamond pattern on top with a scraper.
3. Line the melonpan in a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside for 40 mins for another fermentation.
4. Preheat the oven at 170 deg C & bake for about 12 mins.   Cool melonpan on the cooling rack & serve.