Why it works: Flour and milk 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 ↓
Vienna Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Rub in the cold lard until well combined.
Mix in the milk to form a firm dough that is easy to handle.
Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and roll it to a thickness of ½ inch.
Shape and bake
Cut out rounds with a large cutter and fold them in half.
Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet, ensuring they are well spaced.
Brush the tops with a little milk to glaze.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the rolls as its proteins and starch set in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when heated, helping the rolls rise and become light.
- Cold lard
- Rubbed into the flour as fat, tenderising the crumb and keeping the dough short.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour to form the dough and adds moisture and some browning to the crust.
The step that matters
Rub in the cold lard until well combined. Keeping the lard cold and evenly distributed coats flour particles and prevents gluten from over-developing, giving a tender, flaky crumb rather than a tough one.
“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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