Melon-pan Toast

One of the things people miss when moving to another country is their home country’s food. For me, I really missed melon-pan. While it’s something that’s easily available these days in the States, when I first went to college in the South, melon-pan was nowhere to be found. This recipe turns that iconic Japanese dessert snack into a toast dish that’s super easy to make – melon-pan toast!

Melon-pan is similar to pineapple buns in Hong Kong and conchas in Mexican cuisine – it’s a baked white flour bun with a cookie-like topping, which has been lightly carved to resemble melons, pineapples, and seashells. None of them taste like their names, it’s really just how they look. 

Most of the time, these tasty pastries don’t have a filling, but some Japanese bakeries have been known to put white bean paste or custard in the “pan” part of the pastry.  

So what’s a girl to do in a country without melon-pan? A quick and simple “melon-pan toast”! This easy recipe was the perfect way to enjoy melon-pan. These days, you can get melon-pan in Asian supermarkets in the States and even online, but the toast version is still super fun to make, and brings back fun memories.  

The added bonus of a melon-pan toast you make at home is – you can add all sorts of things! Nutella? Yogurt and fresh fruit? Jams and jellies? Chocolate chips? Mix cocoa or matcha INTO the batter before you spread it on your toast? Woohoo, so many ideas – let your imagination go! 

For other toast-based dishes, check out my Homemade Ricotta recipe; for other simple Japanese desserts, check out my Shiratama Dango, Matcha Nama Chocolate, and Mizu Manju / Warabi Mochi recipes!

Why is Bread Called “Pan” in Japan?

If melon-pans don’t taste like melons, what is “pan” in Japan, exactly? That’s actually just what we call bread! Japan has a lot of imported words, especially for foods, and we just use the name it was called when it was first introduced to us. In the case of bread, Japan was introduced to it by the Portuguese – they called it “pan” when they brought it to Japan for the first time in the mid-16th Century.  

Ingredients

• 1 slice Japanese milk bread 
• 1 tbsp sugar 
• 2 tbsp flour 
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp butter, softened  

Directions

In a bowl combine butter, flour, and sugar to create a thick spreadable “cookie” batter. 

Spread batter on slice of milk bread. Regular sandwich bread works, but milk bread is best here. 

Put into toaster oven and toast on regular setting. Do NOT put this in a standard American slot-toaster, the butter will melt and you’ll end up with a fire. 

If you don’t have a toaster oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and toast on a baking sheet for 10 – 15 min. No flipping – Japanese toast, as a general rule, is crispy on one side and soft on the other. 

Let cool before serving so the batter can solidify. It’s way too hot to eat fresh out of the toaster oven!