II
The Method
1
Make the tangzhong. Combine 25 g bread flour and 125 ml whole milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens to a paste and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and cool completely to room temperature before use. The paste is ready when it holds a soft ribbon and no raw flour taste remains.
2
Make the melon pan cookie dough by hand. Cream the softened butter and caster sugar together with a wooden spoon or spatula until pale and combined — do not use a food processor, which destroys the plasticity needed to sheet the dough. Beat in the egg, then fold in the plain flour and baking powder until a smooth, pliable dough forms. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The dough is ready when it is firm enough to roll without sticking but yields readily under pressure.
3
Make the enriched base dough. Combine the bread flour, caster sugar, salt, and instant dried yeast in a large bowl. Add the cooled tangzhong paste, eggs, and warm milk. Mix to a shaggy dough, then knead until smooth — approximately 8–10 minutes by hand. Add the softened butter in small additions and continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky. It is ready when a small piece stretched between the fingers forms a translucent membrane without tearing (the windowpane test).
4
First prove. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and prove at room temperature until doubled in volume. The enriched dough is slower than a lean dough; do not rush this stage. The dough is ready when a finger pressed into the surface leaves an indent that springs back slowly rather than immediately.
5
Divide and pre-shape. Turn the proved dough onto an unfloured surface. Divide into 8 equal portions of approximately 40 g each. Roll each portion into a smooth ball, pulling the surface taut. Cover loosely and rest for 10 minutes. The balls are ready when the gluten has relaxed and the surface is smooth and no longer resisting.
6
Shape the anpan. Flatten one dough ball into a round roughly 8 cm across. Place 20–25 g of chilled azuki bean paste (tsubu-an or koshi-an) in the centre. Do not exceed this quantity — overfilling causes the filling to burst during baking. Gather the edges of the dough up and over the filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place seam-side down on a lined tray. Repeat for the remaining anpan portions. The seal is secure when no filling is visible and the pinched seam holds without reopening.
7
Shape the melon pan. Divide the chilled cookie dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion between two sheets of baking parchment to a round approximately 3–4 mm thick — no thinner, no thicker. Drape one cookie round over a shaped bread dough ball, pressing gently to adhere and stretching it to cover the upper two-thirds of the bun. Roll the covered bun briefly in caster sugar, then use a bench scraper or knife to score the cookie surface in a crosshatch grid pattern to create the melon-skin appearance. Place on a separate lined tray. The cookie layer is correctly applied when it is uniform in thickness, fully adhered, and shows clean, unblurred score lines.
8
Second prove. Cover both trays loosely and prove until the buns are visibly puffed and have increased in volume by roughly half again — do not allow the melon pan to over-prove or the cookie layer will crack unevenly. The buns are ready when they feel soft and airy to a light touch and jiggle gently when the tray is moved.
9
Bake. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the anpan lightly with beaten egg wash and press one salt-pickled cherry blossom (rinsed and dried) or a pinch of sesame seeds onto the crown of each. Do not egg-wash the melon pan. Bake both trays until the anpan are deep golden and the melon pan cookie layer is set to a pale gold and just barely crisp — approximately 13–15 minutes. The anpan are done when the crust is evenly golden and the buns sound hollow when tapped on the base; the melon pan are done when the cookie exterior is dry to the touch and the scored lines hold their definition.
10
Rest and serve. Transfer to a wire rack. Anpan may be served warm or at room temperature. Melon pan is at its peak within one hour of baking, when the cookie layer retains its slight crispness against the soft interior. If necessary, reheat melon pan at 170°C for 3 minutes to restore the textural contrast.