Servings: 6
Ingredients
Cookie dough (for 2 batches)
- 90 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g superfine sugar
- 1 whole egg at room temperature (55 to 60 g)
- 220 g cake flour T45
- 40 g almond flour blanched
- 2 pinches fine Guérande salt
Bread dough (preferment)
- 140 g bread flour 10–11% protein
- 15 g cane sugar
- 95 g whole milk
- 1.5 g instant dry yeast not baking powder
Bread dough (final mix)
- 20 g bread flour
- 40 g all-purpose flour T55, less than 10% protein
- 10 g cane sugar
- 10 g buttermilk powder
- 3.5 g salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 20 g milk
- 20 g unsalted butter softened
Topping
- 30 g granulated sugar
Variation
- 5 g chocolate chips optional
Procédé
Cookie dough
- Weigh the butter and let it soften; bring the egg to room temperature. Sift together the cake flour, almond flour, and salt.90 g unsalted butter, 1 whole egg, 220 g cake flour, 40 g almond flour, 2 pinches fine Guérande salt
- Add the sugar to the butter and mix with a spatula until smooth and pliable. Beat the egg, then add it to the butter in 4 to 5 additions, emulsifying well after each addition.100 g superfine sugar
- Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Once partly incorporated, mix by hand until no streaks of flour remain, then knead briefly about 10 times.
- Divide the cookie dough into 2 portions, wrap, and flatten. Refrigerate the portion you will use right away and freeze the other; let rest for at least 1 hour (ideally 6 to 8 hours). If needed, thaw in the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before using.
Preferment
- Warm the milk to about 30 °C, sprinkle the yeast over it, and let stand. In a bowl, mix the bread flour and sugar, then add the milk-yeast mixture and stir until smooth.140 g bread flour, 15 g cane sugar, 95 g whole milk, 1.5 g instant dry yeast
- Knead lightly about 1 minute to eliminate dry spots, shape into a ball, then ferment at 30 °C about 1 hour, until ~1.8 times the original volume.
Final mix
- Weigh the final-mix ingredients and let the butter soften. Tear the preferment into ~10 pieces.20 g bread flour, 40 g all-purpose flour, 10 g cane sugar, 10 g buttermilk powder, 3.5 g salt, 1 egg yolk, 20 g milk, 20 g unsalted butter
- Combine the flours, sugar, salt, and buttermilk powder. Mix the egg yolk and milk, then add to the dry ingredients and mix partially. Add the pieces of preferment and knead; when the dough is ~80% incorporated, add the butter and knead until smooth.
- First fermentation: Shape into a ball, place in a bowl, and cover. Ferment at 30 °C about 1 hour, until doubled (finger test).
- Divide the dough into 6 portions, shape into balls, cover, and rest 15 minutes.
Cookie dough (portioning)
- During the first fermentation, divide the cookie dough into 6 portions; knead each portion 4 to 5 times and shape into balls. Keep well chilled in the refrigerator if made ahead. For the chocolate version, fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough.5 g chocolate chips
Shaping and finishing
- Flatten each portion of cookie dough into a disk slightly larger than the bread dough ball. Round the bread dough again, then wrap it with the cookie dough; flip so the cookie side is up and round.
- Sprinkle the topping sugar evenly over the cookie surface and score a light crosshatch without cutting too deeply.30 g granulated sugar
Second proof and baking
- Proof at 30 °C for 45 minutes (no steam). Preheat the oven to 200 °C so it’s ready at the end of proofing.
- Lower the oven to 190 °C and bake 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly colored. Cool on a rack.
Notes
- For the best contrast with the exceptionally soft, airy crumb, make the melon pan fairly large.
- The cookie dough quantity is enough for 2 batches, so you do not have to use a partial egg; for a single batch, halve all the cookie dough ingredients.
- For the topping, regular granulated sugar works better than very fine sugar.
- If the cookie dough rests only briefly, the surface will be crispier and more likely to crack during baking.
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