Why it works: Molasses and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Boston Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Pour boiling water into cornmeal in a pan to scald it.
Add molasses, then the rest of the ingredients, mixing the baking powder with the flour.
Beat thoroughly to make a stiff batter.
Steam and bake
Transfer to a tin or iron pail with a tight lid and steam for at least 4 hours.
After steaming, turn out of the pail and bake for about 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.
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.
-
Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Provides the bulk and coarse, hearty texture of the loaf.
- Black molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the batter.
- Graham flour
- Gives the bread a nutty flavour and a coarser, heavier crumb.
- White flour
- Supplies gluten-forming structure so the loaf holds together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that helps the bread rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Steam for the full time in a tightly sealed pail. Steaming cooks the dense batter gently with moisture rather than dry heat. A tight lid keeps steam in, so the loaf sets through without drying out or becoming gummy in the centre.
“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.
More boston brown bread recipes
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.