Name: Herbes De Provence French Bread
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cup warm water; 1 pack dry yeast; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp salt; 2 tbsp herbes de provence; 7 cup flour; 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓

Herbes De Provence French Bread

Oven400°F, then 350°F

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

Stir the first five ingredients together to dissolve the yeast, sugar, and salt.
Stir in the flour.
Knead for 10 minutes.
Let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk.
Punch down, knead three or four times to remove air, then divide into four equal pieces.

Shape and bake

Shape each piece into a long loaf and place in a well-greased French bread pan; slash the top.
Brush the loaves with the egg white and let rise until doubled.
Bake 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 400°F, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped.
Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on racks.
Wrap in aluminum foil and freeze if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

582Calories

19 gProtein

6 gFat

108 gCarbs

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
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

Flour: Forms the gluten network that gives the loaves their structure and chew.
Yeast: Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
Egg white: Brushed on top, it helps the crust take on a glossy, golden color.
Sugar: Feeds the yeast and supports fermentation and browning of the crust.

The step that matters

Punch down and divide after the first rise. Knocking out the air and kneading briefly redistributes the yeast and evens the gas structure, so the four pieces rise and bake uniformly.

“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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Herbes De Provence French Bread