Name: Barley and Wheat Muffins
Ingredients: 1½ cups barley flour; 1 cup wheat flour; 2 tablespoons molasses; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; 1 tablespoon fat; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup milk; ¼ teaspoon salt

Why it works: Barley and wheat match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 185 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

Barley and Wheat Muffins

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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make the batter

In a bowl, mix the barley flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the molasses, fat, and milk.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin.

Bake

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

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.

Barley + wheattop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together185 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,418 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,373 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together582 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Barley + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together598 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Barley flour: Provides the main structure and a nutty, earthy flavour in the muffins.
Wheat flour: Adds gluten for structure, giving the muffins a lighter, more tender crumb.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture, and deep flavour, and helps the crust brown.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter to make the muffins rise.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidity in the batter to produce gas for rising and browning.
Milk: Hydrates the flours and adds moisture and richness to the batter.

The step that matters

Stir the batter until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the wheat flour, which makes muffins tough and tunnelled. Stopping once the dry streaks disappear keeps the crumb tender.

“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.

Molasses Cookies96 recipes

Molasses Cake90 recipes

Wheat Muffins48 recipes

Whole Wheat Muffins12 recipes

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Barley and Wheat Muffins