Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Graham Wafers
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the sugar
Boil the brown sugar until it dissolves.
Make and shape the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the lard, graham flour, ammonia, baking soda, salt, water, molasses, and flour.
Mix until a dough forms.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + molassestop 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the dough together as it bakes.
- Graham flour
- Adds coarse texture and a nutty, wholesome flavor to the dough.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and keeps the wafers crisp.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the wafers brown in the oven.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep flavor, and color to the dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to lighten the dough and promote browning.
The step that matters
Bake until golden brown. Graham wafers are thin, so they can go from done to burnt quickly. Sugar and molasses darken fast at baking temperatures, so color is the best sign of doneness.
“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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