Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Damper II
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Sift flour and salt into a bowl, rub in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Make a well in the centre, add the combined milk and water, mix lightly with a knife until dough leaves sides of bowl.
Gently knead on a lightly floured surface.
Shape dough into a round and put on a greased oven tray.
Pat dough into a round 15-16 cm diameter.
Score and bake
With a sharp knife, cut two slits across dough like a cross, approximately 1 cm deep.
Brush top of dough with milk.
Sift a little extra flour over dough.
Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Reduce heat to moderate and bake another 20 minutes.
Best eaten the day it is made.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Self-raising flour
- Provides the structure of the damper and rises with the raising agent in it.
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour to add tenderness and a soft, crumbly texture.
- Milk
- Moistens the dough and browns the crust when brushed on top.
The step that matters
Mixing in the liquid. Mixing the milk and water lightly, only until the dough leaves the bowl sides, keeps the crumb tender. Overworking develops gluten and makes the damper tough.
“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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