Why it works: Rye and molasses work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown 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
Mix Indian meal, rye meal, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl until well combined.
Combine molasses with hot water in a separate bowl.
Pour the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Grease a tin bread or pudding boiler with butter.
Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared boiler and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until cooked through.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rye + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together348 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Provides the main body and coarse structure of the bread.
- Rye meal
- Adds earthy flavor and a dense, moist crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acidity to lift and lighten the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Stirring in the molasses mixture. Once the liquid is added, baking soda starts reacting with the molasses acid. Stirring only until smooth and then baking promptly keeps the rise working for a light texture.
“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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