Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Malt Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the yeast in 1 gallon of water at 85°F (29°C) with the yeast food and malt extract; set aside for 10 minutes.
In a mixer, combine the salt, sugar, dry milk, and the remaining water; mix until dissolved.
Gradually add the flour to the mixer; when partly mixed, add the yeast mixture and melted lard or oil.
Mix on high speed for 16 to 20 minutes or on slow speed for 23 to 35 minutes until well combined.
Let the dough rest for 2½ hours; then fold the sides without punching down.
Allow the dough to rise for ½ hour, punch down, and let it rest for another hour.
Punch down again and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
Divide the dough, round it, and place it in the proofer for 15 to 16 minutes.
Transfer the loaves to pans and place them in a proofing chamber with steam until proved.
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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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Wheat + malttop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together64 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
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