Name: Tender Dough for Various Uses
Ingredients: 1 lb/500 g flour,; 2 tablespoons butter or lard,; 2 yolks,; 2 tablespoons sour cream,; 2 tablespoons sugar,; a little salt,; 1 teaspoon vanilla,; 2 tablespoons white wine

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Tender Dough for Various Uses

Ovenmedium heat

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

Knead the butter or lard with as much flour as necessary to make into a soft dough.
Add the yolks, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, wine and salt.
Add the remaining flour, knead well, cover and let it rest for a half hour.
Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll each one into a pencil thick sheet.

Fill and bake

Lay one sheet on the bottom of the baking pan, prick with the fork and bake.
When the dough has risen a little and has lightened in color, quickly spread the desired filling (cottage cheese, grated apples or other fruits, marmelade or preserves, etc.).
Cover with the second sheet, prick this one with a fork too, wash with egg white and bake at medium heat until golden-brown.

Serve

When ready, cut into squares and sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top.
This may also be filled with meat or liver; in this case, reduce the sugar to 1 level teaspoon and omit vanilla.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

858Calories

30 gProtein

26 gFat

115 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,083 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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 structure of the dough that holds the layers and filling together.
Butter or lard: Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and gives it a short, rich texture.
Egg yolks: Add richness and color, and help bind the dough.
Sour cream: Adds moisture and mild acidity that keep the dough soft.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.

The step that matters

Bake the first sheet only until it has risen a little and lightened in color. Filling the base sheet at the right moment lets it set enough to hold the filling without becoming dry or overbaked. Pricking the dough lets steam escape so it does not puff unevenly.

Swap the vanilla

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, cream, sugar, white wine):

Vanillathe original
Raisinfits about as well
Strawberryfits less well
Figfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, cream, sugar, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

White Cake431 recipes

Pound Cake373 recipes

Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes

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Tender Dough for Various Uses