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 ↓
Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Combine flour in a basin and make a hollow in the center.
Add yeast sponge and salt.
Let the mixture rise.
Mix in milk and water to form a soft dough.
Let the dough rise again.
Beat the dough smooth.
Shape the muffins
Spread flour on a tray about 2½ inches thick.
Make impressions in the flour with a cup.
Spoon portions of the dough into the flour impressions.
Let the dough rise in the impressions.
Lift the muffins from the flour.
Bake
Heat a griddle or muffin stone.
Place the muffins on the griddle.
Bake for a few minutes.
Turn the muffins over.
Bake until light in color.
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough that holds the muffins' shape.
- German yeast sponge
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
- Milk
- Adds richness and softness to the dough and helps it brown.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form, giving the dough its elastic texture.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise in the impressions. The dough needs enough time to ferment and expand before baking. Under-proofed dough bakes dense, while over-proofed dough collapses and loses its shape.
“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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