Melonpan, Japanese

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 25 g butter
• 35 g sugar
• ¼ egg(s)
• 80 g flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 140 g flour
• 25 g sugar
• Salt, 1/3 tsp
• 3 g dry yeast
• ¾ egg(s)
• 70 ml milk, warm
• 15 g butter
• Flour, for dusting
• Sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 12 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 52 minutes

Yeast dough cookies with shortcrust pastry coating

First, we’ll prepare the shortcrust pastry, as it needs to rest in the fridge for a good hour. To do this, mix the butter and sugar by hand with a whisk until the butter is creamy white. Then add the 1/4 egg. For this, whisk the egg, weigh it, and use a quarter of it. The remaining egg is needed for the yeast dough. Continue stirring until the mixture is nice and smooth. Sift the flour with the baking powder and then add it a spoonful at a time. Knead the mixture with your hands until you have a smooth dough. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate it for at least an hour. Next comes the yeast dough. Mix the flour with the sugar, salt, and dried yeast until lukewarm. Mix the milk with the remaining egg and add it to the flour mixture. First, mix roughly with a wooden spoon, then knead the dough on a work surface. It will be very sticky at first. Keep lifting it from the work surface and then punching it back down with plenty of force. Continue kneading until it is no longer sticky. Then spread the butter over the dough and knead it in, rolling and kneading it, then hitting the surface again until it is no longer sticky. This usually takes about 10 minutes (after adding the butter). Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces (this is most evenly done using a scale). Shape the pieces into balls and let them rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. Cut the shortcrust pastry into 5 equal pieces (again, use the scale), form balls, and flatten them between two pieces of plastic wrap to form flat cakes about the size of your palm. Place a yeast ball on a piece of shortcrust pastry, wrap it tightly around it, and seal. Roll the smooth side in sugar, then press three parallel cuts into the surface with a knife. Turn the melon pan 45° and make three more cuts. Bake on a baking sheet lined with baking paper at 170° in a preheated oven for 12 minutes.