Why it works: Egg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Whole-wheat Muffins
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the graham flour, baking powder, and salt, then add the bran that remains after sifting the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, combine the liquid, sweetening, melted shortening, and egg.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Bake
Spoon the batter into muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Provides the whole-grain structure and the nutty, hearty texture of the muffins.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, causing the muffins to rise.
- Melted shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Liquid
- Hydrates the flour so the batter forms and the starches can set during baking.
The step that matters
Stir until just combined. Overmixing the batter develops gluten and releases more air than needed, which can make muffins tough and tunnelled. Stopping once the dry flour disappears keeps them tender.
“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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