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Bread

Hard-dough Bread

A loaf of bread made with a yeast sponge and a dough containing milk, sugar, salt, margarine, and flour.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Hard-dough Bread

Oven375°F

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sponge

  1. Pour 1¼ cups of cold water into a bowl.

  2. Dissolve the yeast in the remaining ¼ cup water, then add to the bowl.

  3. Stir in the sugar and salt.

  4. Gradually add the flour.

  5. Cover and let the sponge stand overnight before adding to the dough.

Make the dough

  1. Add the milk, sugar, salt, and margarine to the water in a bowl.

  2. Gradually add flour, mixing all the time.

  3. Tear the sponge into small pieces and add to the dough mixture.

Shape and bake

  1. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.

  2. Shape as desired and let rise 30 to 40 minutes.

  3. Bake in an oven preheated to 375°F until the loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

755Calories
21 gProtein
21 gFat
120 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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.

  1. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  3. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

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

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
Its proteins form gluten, which gives the loaves structure and chew.
Yeast
Fermentation produces gas that makes the dough rise and become airy.
Granulated sugar
Feeds the yeast and helps the crust brown during baking.
Soft margarine
Adds fat that softens the crumb and gives a tender texture.
Powdered milk
Milk solids add browning to the crust and a softer crumb.

The step that matters

Kneading until smooth and elastic. Kneading aligns and strengthens the gluten network. If the dough is under-kneaded, it will not trap the gas from rising well, and the loaves may be dense.

“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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