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 ↓
Georgian Challah
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Dissolve the active dry yeast and sugar in the water in a large glass container. Mix and let sit about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl mix 5 cups of the flour with the salt. Add the yeast mixture and the vegetable oil. Work the ingredients together with a spoon; when they come together turn out on a floured board, and knead with your hands until the dough becomes a smooth ball.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise, covered, for an hour or so or until doubled.
Punch down the dough and divide into 4 balls. Cover with a towel and let rise about a half hour.
Shape and bake
Meanwhile, place 4 empty round baking pans or cookie sheets in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes and remove.
When the dough has risen, punch down and divide into 4 balls.
For weekdays, press down and stretch the dough, using the back of your hand. Grease the baking pans and press the dough down into them. Using your fingers, make big indentations in the center of the dough.
For Sabbath bread, keep the shape in a round and make a few slashes in the bread.
Sprinkle the dough, whatever the shape, with water and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a spatula.
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 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| 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.
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.
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes it rise and become airy.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and chew.
- Vegetable oil
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and keeps the bread moist.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds a little sweetness and browning.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise until doubled. Under-proofed dough bakes dense, while over-proofed dough can collapse or lose structure. Yeast activity, not the clock alone, determines when the dough is ready.
“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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