Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Panamanian Fried Bread I
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Heat the oil in a large pot.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. Add the shortening to the mixture.
Add some water and continue adding as much as needed until mixture becomes a firm dough.
Cover and sit aside for 5 minutes.
Fry and serve
Take medium sized pieces of dough and form into pattie shapes about 1/4 inch thick.
Fry them in the oil for 2/3 minutes until golden brown.
Drain.
Sprinkle with honey and serve hot.
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 |
| 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.
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
- All purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the dough once mixed with water.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough so the fried bread puffs and lightens.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and keeps the texture soft.
The step that matters
Frying the dough patties. Oil must be hot enough to brown the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the dough absorbs excess oil and turns greasy and heavy instead of golden and crisp.
“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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