Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Pani Popo
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour and yeast.
In a saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, shortening, margarine, or butter, and salt until warm and shortening almost melts.
Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture.
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl constantly.
Using a spoon, stir in the remaining flour until the dough is moderately stiff, smooth, and easy to pull.
Continue stirring for 6–8 minutes.
Put some Crisco shortening on your hands to add moisture and make the dough easier to handle.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, and turn it to grease all sides.
Cover and let rise in the oven on the top rack, with a pan of hot water below it.
Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes, then punch it down.
Divide the dough into 18 balls and cover them for 10 minutes while you prepare the milk mixture.
Make the coconut topping
Mix 2 cans of coconut milk with 1 cup of sugar; add more sugar if desired.
Assemble and bake
In two 13×9×2-inch pans, pour half of the milk mixture into each pan and place nine bread rolls on top.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes or until the bread is done.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Gluten proteins form the dough's structure and give the bread its chewy texture.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise and become light and airy.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, and its sugars help the crust brown.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast, adds sweetness, and helps the crust brown.
- Shortening
- Fat tenderizes the crumb and keeps the bread soft.
- Coconut milk
- Adds moisture, richness, and sweetness to the topping.
The step that matters
Adding the remaining flour. Adding too much flour makes the dough stiff and the bread dense, while too little leaves it sticky and hard to shape. Stop when the dough is smooth and easy to pull.
“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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