Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Graham or Whole-wheat Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Dissolve the salt and sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm liquid.
Add 1 teaspoon of compressed yeast blended with 1 cup of lukewarm water (or 4 tablespoons of liquid yeast).
Mix in enough graham flour to form a dough that is not too stiff.
Knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
Cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
Shape and bake
Knead down, mold, and place in a greased pan.
Allow to rise until it has doubled in volume again.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for at least one hour.
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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Graham flour
- Forms the bulk of the dough and gives the bread its structure and whole-grain texture.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, causing the dough to rise and become light.
- Liquid (preferably milk)
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and gives the dough its moisture.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning during baking.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and softens the texture.
The step that matters
Knead down, mold, and place in a greased pan. Knocking back and reshaping the dough releases large gas pockets so the second rise is even. Greasing the pan keeps the loaf from sticking when it expands and is removed after baking.
“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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