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1
Make the tangzhong. Weigh the flour for the roux into a small saucepan. Pour the boiling water over it in one motion and work immediately with a spatula until no dry flour remains and the mixture forms a translucent, cohesive gel. Transfer to a bowl, press cling film to the surface, and allow to cool to room temperature. The roux is ready when it holds its shape as a pale, stiff gel — neither liquid nor grainy.
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2
Build the main enriched dough. Combine the bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, keeping salt and yeast on opposite sides before mixing. Add the cooled tangzhong, milk, and egg. Bring together into a shaggy mass, then knead — by hand or machine — until smooth and elastic. Add the butter in stages, incorporating each addition fully before adding the next. Continue until the dough is silky, pulls cleanly from the bowl, and passes the windowpane test: a small piece stretched between the fingers thins to a near-translucent membrane without tearing.
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3
First proof. Cover the dough and leave at room temperature until doubled in volume. The dough should feel airy and domed, spring back slowly when pressed, and carry a clean, milky-yeast scent — not sharp or alcoholic.
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4
For shokupan: divide the proved dough into three equal portions, shape each into a tight cylinder, and fit seam-side down into a lidded Pullman tin. For anpan: divide into eight equal balls of approximately 60 g each. Flatten each ball, centre 60 g of adzuki an on the disc, then gather the dough edges up and over the filling, pinching firmly to a seal of no more than 5 mm bread thickness. Place seam-side down on a lined tray. Press a salt-pickled sakura leaf to each surface if using.
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5
Make the melon pan cookie topping (if preparing melon pan). Cream the softened butter and sugar until pale. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder until a soft, pliable dough forms. Divide into eight portions and press each between sheets of cling film into a disc approximately 8 cm in diameter. The finished discs should be soft and pliable at room temperature — not chilled firm. Drape one disc over each proved enriched roll, smoothing it gently over the domed surface. With the back of a knife or a scoring comb, press a shallow crosshatch pattern — 1–2 mm deep — into the cookie surface only; the blade must not penetrate to the bread beneath.
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6
Final proof. Leave the shaped dough — shokupan, anpan, or melon pan — covered, until springy but not fully expanded: the dough should push back with gentle resistance when pressed with a fingertip. Do not allow full expansion; an over-proofed enriched dough produces a dry, bread-dominant result without the characteristic density.
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7
Bake. For shokupan: slide the lid onto the Pullman tin and bake in a preheated oven until the loaf is deep golden at the edges where the lid permits and sounds hollow when the base is tapped — the sealed pan produces the characteristic square crumb and even structure. For anpan and melon pan: bake uncovered until the surfaces are a rich, even gold and the undersides are set and dry to the touch. Cool on a wire rack before cutting; the crumb continues to set as it cools.