Japanese Honeydew Bread

Japanese honeydew bread looks like a melon pan but unlike a melon pan, it tastes like melon! Filled with homemade honeydew custard and baked until golden brown with a crunchy honeydew crust.

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• Watch how to make this
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• Make-ahead and storage
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Watch how to make this

@cherryonmysundae

Japanese honeydew bread with honeydew custard. find the recipe link in bio. #bakingfromscratch #recipesforyou #breadbaking #summerdesserts #bakingrecipe

♬ Fire - Russ

Ingredients

• Active dry yeast: When using active dry yeast, you need to activate it first by combining it with warm milk and a pinch of sugar. If using instant yeast, you can skip this step. However, make sure that you are still using warm milk for the dough.
• Milk: To create soft bread, we're going to incorporate milk, egg, and butter into the dough. These ingredients all contribute to the soft texture while adding richness.
• Bread flour: This specific flour has a higher protein content giving the bread a stronger gluten structure and as a result, better rise. It also yields fluffier bread as opposed to all-purpose flour.
• Honeydew melon: This type of melon has a sweet and mild flavor with a refreshing taste. You can also substitute honeydew with cantaloupe if you prefer.
• Cornstarch: The thickening agent helps the honeydew custard reach the right consistency.
• Cake flour: The texture of cake flour is very fine and powdery with a low protein content, making it the perfect flour to make the bread topping.
• Green food coloring: Although optional, green food coloring helps make the bread look more like honeydew. Since the fruit turns yellow when cooked, the food coloring helps achieve the correct appearance.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook honeydew syrup

Let's dive right in shall we? Before we can even start making the bread, we have to make the main flavor component, the honeydew syrup. If you can find honeydew syrup that doesn't taste artificial, by all means, go for it. I was unable to find any so I went the natural route and decided to make it myself.

All you have to do is puree 2 cups of fresh honeydew in a blender and simmer it with a bit of sugar until it is reduced by half. If your honeydew is already very sweet, you can reduce the amount of sugar or omit it altogether.

About 20 minutes later, the honeydew syrup should be slightly thickened, darker, and more concentrated in flavor. We're going to use this syrup for both the custard and the bread topping.

Step 2: Make the dough

Now it's time to make the dough. First, activate the yeast with a bit of sugar in warm milk. Then, add the remaining ingredients including the bread flour, salt, sugar, softened butter, and egg. Knead the dough until smooth; the dough will be soft but that just means the actual bread will be too! I use the stand mixer to prepare the dough but you can knead it by hand if you prefer.

Proof the dough for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. If it's a particularly hot day, this may take less than 1 hour.

Step 3: Prepare honeydew custard

Meanwhile, make the honeydew custard, which will fill the bread. Puree about 2 ¼ cups of honeydew to yield 1 ½ cups of fresh juice. Then, combine the juice with eggs, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and ¼ cup of the honeydew syrup we prepared.

Simmer the mixture over medium heat, whisking continuously to prevent the egg from curdling. Once the custard starts to thicken, take it off the heat and pour it into a clean bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent the skin from forming and let it cool completely.

Step 4: Fill the bread

Once the dough is ready, punch it down and divide it into 8 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a 6-inch circle and fill the center with the custard. If you're able to successfully stuff more custard in the rolls, kudos to you! I found it a little tricky to close the seams when I put too much filling.

Place the rolls seam side facing down on a baking sheet and lightly cover the rolls. Proof the bread once more for another hour.

While the bread is rising, make the bread topping. To make the topping, cream together butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add an egg followed by honeydew syrup, cake flour, baking powder, and 1 drop of green food coloring.

The food coloring is optional but it adds a lovely green tint. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get it the same green with just natural honeydew juice so food coloring it is!

Step 5: Bake

Are you still with me? Good because we're almost at the finish line. Cut the chilled bread topping into 8 portions and roll each into a circle big enough to cover the bread. If your kitchen is hot, you want to work quickly because the topping can get sticky when warm.

Score the tops in a crisscross pattern using a sharp knife. If you want to get clean lines, wipe the knife clean after every cut.

Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are browned.

Phew, that was a lot of work! But I can happily say that these honeydew breads were very similar to the ones I had in Japan. The bread is incredibly soft and the custard has the perfect amount of sweetness with a hint of honeydew. Now to try this with canteloupe...

If you're a fan of melon desserts, be sure to check out these melon creamsicle bars and raspberry cantaloupe toaster strudel!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can make the honeydew syrup up to 3 days in advance and the honeydew custard up to 1 day in advance.
• Store: Let the honeydew bread cool completely and wrap it in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. The bread freezes well and can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Frequently asked questions

More Asian bread recipes

Looking for more Asian bread ideas? Try these:

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