Can you believe that this cute little things is edible?
YES, today we are making these cute Angry Bird Melonpan.
Melonpan are Japanese sweet buns covered with a thin layer of cookie dough; crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.
I will use a Tangzhong method in this recipe, it creates an incredibly soft and stay fresh longer bread.

If you notice; Melonpan and Pineapple Bun from Hong Kong are very similar.
By comparison, the Japanese style is lighter in weight and taste, slightly drier and has a firmer outer layer (the cookie crust on top) which resists flaking; unlike its Hong Kong counterpart, whose top cookie crust tends to flake easily.
The Hong Kong version is also moister, and is generally soft on the outside and inside, with a stronger butter flavour.

With origins in Japan’s Yukone (or Yudane), Tangzhong is a yeast bread technique popularized across Asia.
For the Yudane method, boiling water is used to scald the flour instead of cooking over the fire.

They are both quite similar; it involves cooking a portion of the flour and liquid in the recipe into a thick slurry prior to adding the remaining ingredients, resulting in soft, fluffy bread.

You will need half sphere mold to resembles the bird’s head.
I found that this silicone mold is the best option, the bread will release easily, you don’t have to worry that the crust will stick to the pan.

Look! the colour is beautiful and the shape is great. If you tap the top and hear the sound of the crust, you will know that it’s really crispy.

And for the details, shortening based cookie dough is the easy and fast way to create the details. The dough is easy to work with, there’s no need to be chilled.

I’m prefer to bake the eyes and wings on top of the round shape of the sphere mould rather than a flat baking pan so the shape will stick perfectly to the head.

And if you notice, our lovely Angry Birds have a black circle around their eyes. I am using black food colouring mixed with Vodka, you can also use edible pen.

You can make various facial expressions for them. Some with close mouth and some open mouth 😂.

Which one do you like? 🙄

They all look so adorable… I personally can’t bear to eat them 😓🤧😭

The top cookie crust is buttery and crispy with the soft and spongy Matcha bread on the inside.
I hope that you will enjoy the beauty of this Melonpan.
Love you All !! 💋

ANGRY BIRD MELONPAN
Yield: 5 Melonpan
Active time: 1 hours
Total time: 3½ hours

INGREDIENTS
Cookie Dough:
35 g Unsalted Butter
50 g Caster Sugar
35 g Eggs
120 g Cake Flour
1/4 +1/8 tsp Baking Powder (Double Acting)
1/4 tsp Matcha Powder
Mint Green & Yellow Food Colouring

Bread Dough:
Tangzhong: 40 g Milk + 8 g Bread Flour
135 g Bread Flour
20 g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
1½ tsp Matcha Powder
A pinch Salt
25 g Eggs
50 g Milk
25 Unsalted Butter
Egg whites & Caster Sugar 

Details Dough:
30 g Shortening
40 g Caster Sugar
15 g Eggs
1 tsp Milk
75 g All-Purpose Flour
1/4 +1/8 tsp Baking Powder (Double Acting)
A pinch of Salt
Food Colouring (Black, Mint Green, Yellow, Turquoise,
Orange)

Sugar Glue
50 g Caster Sugar
25 g Water

INSTRUCTIONS
Cookie Dough

1. Simply mix the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
2. Add in the eggs and mix.
3. Pour in the sifted dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, matcha powder) and mix.
   Before everything is well incorporated, add some mint green and yellow food colouring to create colour shades that looks like Angry Birds.
4. Knead well until the colour is even (try not to over-mix the dough, we want to keep the flaky crust on top).
5. Place the dough on the cling wrap, cover it and then store it in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Bread Dough

1. Tangzhong Mixture
   In a small non-stick pan, combine the 40 g milk and 8 g bread flour. Mix really well until no lumps visible.
   Cook over medium heat, continue stirring. Once you see that the mixture start to thicken, lower the heat and continue cook until it become a thick paste (be careful not to burn it).
   Take it off from the heat and let it cool until warm for about 5-10 minutes, set aside.
2. Then in a large bowl combine the 135 g bread flour, sugar and yeast. Mix well.
3. Add in the matcha powder and salt (always add the salt last so it doesn’t come into direct contact with the yeast – salt can kill the yeast).
4. Pour in the eggs, along with 50 g milk and the Tangzhong batter; mix until just combined.
5. Cover and let it rest for about 15 minutes (this resting time is to give time for the gluten to form its own).
6. After 15 minutes, add in the butter. It seems too many butter at first but after 1-2 minutes the butter is all mixed into the dough.
7. Knead by stretching it
   In a bowl; lift the dough, toss and fold for about 5 minutes.
   Then cover it again (if your dough now isn’t smooth enough, cover it too), wait for about 10 minutes and continue stretching it for another 3 minutes (you can feel that the dough become really smooth).
8. Place the dough into a clean grease bowl, cover it and let it rise until doubled in size for about 1-2 hours (proofing time depending on room temperature, it may take longer or may not take that long).
   

Shaping the cookie dough
Prepare 5 pieces (13 x 13 cm) of plain parchment paper and a piece with a 10 cm round shape as a guide.
Take cookie dough out of the fridge and divide it into 5 equal portions; roll each dough into a smooth ball.
To shape the dough; place 1 all of the cookie dough onto a 10 cm guide of parchment paper, cover with another parchment paper. Using flat surface press the dough gently into a 10 cm disk, turn it over and then cover the finished dough with a plastic wrap to prevent the dough dry.

Create the Melonpan

1. After for about 1 hour, the bread dough has risen to doubled in size. Punch the dough, press out the air, divide the bread dough into 5 equal portions.
2. To create the Melonpan
   Take 1 portion of the bread dough, press out the air. Pull around the edges, tuck underside.
   And then hold and roll the dough with your hands in C shape, give a little pressure until it create a smooth ball.
   Brush the top lightly with the egg white. Place a piece of a round 10 cm cookie dough to the top; make sure it’s in the centre. Adjust according to the shape, gently press to cover the entire outer edge of the bread dough.
3. Dip and coat the cookie dough surface with the caster sugar and then gently place the Melonpan into a silicone mould with the cookie dough facing downwards.
4. Cover the Melonpan with a kitchen towel and then let the dough rise for another 30-45 minutes until puffy and risen almost doubled in size.
5. Bake them in the preheated 170°C oven for about 18-20 minutes
6. Take it off from the oven, let it sit in the mould for about 5 minutes (to let the cookie crust firm up a bit) then gently remove it from the pan. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

Details Dough

1. In a medium bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until pale and creamy.
2. Pour in the eggs and milk, stir well (make sure that all that liquid incorporated into the butter and sugar).
3. Add in the sifted dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt) and mix until well combined.
4. Divide the dough and colour it as needed.
   50 g White for the eyes
   40 g Orange for the feet and mouth
   30 g Green for the wings
   15 g each Turquoise and Black for the inner part of the eyes
5. Create the details (kindly follow video instructions)
6. Bake them in the preheated 160°C oven for about 8-10 minutes (please pay attention, make sure that you don’t over baked the details.
7. Take it off from the oven and let them cool completely on the pan.
   

Sugar Glue
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Cook until bubbly and start to thicken.
Remove the mixture from the stove, but still keep it warm. This can be done by placing the small saucepan in a large saucepan filled with hot water.

Attach the details
If you notice, our lovely Angry bird have a black circle around their eyes. I am using black food colouring mixed with Vodka to draw the black line around the eyes, you can also use edible pen.
Attach all the details with some sugar glue.

NOTES

1. Once the bread is cooled completely, individually wrap it in plastic to prevent it from drying.
   Place them in an airtight container or bag store in the fridge for up to 3 days, freeze for up to a month.
2. To reheat
   Fridge; place at room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake it in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 5- 10 minutes until crispy on the outside.
   Freezer; defrost overnight in the refrigerator, take it out to room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake it in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 5- 10 minutes until crispy on the outside.