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 ↓
Graham Bread with Soda and Sponge
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine the broken-up sponge and salt.
Dissolve the baking soda in water and add it along with the molasses.
Gradually mix in enough graham flour to create a very slack dough.
When half mixed, add the soft lard and work the dough until smooth.
Prove and bake
Pour the dough into pans without molding and let it prove.
Allow it to rise until it has a good half proof.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
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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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
- Sponge
- Provides fermentation and flavour as the base of the dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity in the dough to produce gas for rising.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark colour to the crumb.
- Graham flour
- Provides the structure that holds the slack dough together.
- Lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and a softer texture.
The step that matters
Letting the dough prove to a half proof. Under-proving leaves the loaf dense, while over-proving lets the gas escape and the structure collapse. Stopping at a good half proof balances lift and crumb.
“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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