Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
White Bread Recipe — Quick Method
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
Add sugar and salt, then mix well.
Gradually add flour, stirring until a dough forms.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Shape the dough into a loaf and place it in a greased loaf pan.
Let it rise again for 30 minutes.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
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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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the bread its structure and chew.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens the gluten for better flavor and texture.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and activates the yeast.
The step that matters
Kneading and the first rise. Kneading develops the gluten network that traps the gas from yeast. Letting the dough rise until doubled gives the loaf its lift and open crumb, so under-proofing leaves it dense.
“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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