Name: Half Rye Bread with Molasses
Ingredients: 1 white bread sponge or 2 cups wheat flour; 2 cups rye flour; 8 ounces coarse sea salt; 1½ pints molasses (or 1½ pounds brown sugar); Lard (for brushing)

Why it works: Rye and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Half Rye Bread with Molasses

Ingredients

1 white bread sponge or 2 cups wheat flour
2 cups rye flour
8 ounces coarse sea salt
1½ pints molasses (or 1½ pounds brown sugar)
Lard (for brushing)

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the dough

Prepare a sponge with yeast and wheat flour or use an existing white bread sponge.
Mix in the rye flour to form the dough.
Add the coarse sea salt and molasses (or brown sugar) to the dough.

Shape and bake

Prove the dough until it rises, then shape it into loaves.
Bake the loaves at 400°F (200°C) until done.

Finish

While the loaves are still hot, brush the tops with lard for a soft crust.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,320 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Bread + ryetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together59 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together804 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Bread + flourtop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together10,383 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Bread and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,383 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

White bread sponge or wheat flour: Its gluten network gives the loaves structure and helps them rise.
Rye flour: Gives the bread its dense texture and earthy, characteristic flavor.
Molasses (or brown sugar): Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture to the crumb.

The step that matters

Brushing the loaves with lard while still hot. Hot bread crust is still soft and porous, so the melted lard soaks in and keeps the crust tender rather than hard as it cools.

“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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Half Rye Bread with Molasses