Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
Thin the light bread sponge with warm water in a bowl.
Add molasses and salt, then mix well.
Gradually add Graham flour until a stiff batter forms that can be stirred with a spoon.
Rise and bake
Grease pans generously with butter and pour in the batter.
Allow the batter to rise until light, then bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Bread + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,383 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Light bread-sponge
- Provides the leavening and fermentation that make the loaf rise and gives it a light crumb.
- Graham flour
- Forms the structure of the loaf as its proteins and starches set during baking.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and deeper color to the crumb and crust.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the flour and loosens the sponge so it can be mixed into a batter.
The step that matters
Allow the batter to rise until light. The batter needs enough time for the sponge's yeast to produce gas and build air bubbles; under-proofing leaves a dense loaf, while over-proofing can collapse the structure before baking sets it.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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