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 ↓
Massa Sovada
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Add milk to sugar, butter, and salt; stir until butter is melted.
Mix cinnamon and flour. Add half the flour to the milk, sugar, butter, and salt; mix until smooth.
Beat 3 eggs and add them and the yeast to the mixture. Continue to add remaining flour to make soft dough.
Remove dough from the bowl and place on a floured board. Knead until smooth and satiny, about 15 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and place in a buttered bowl.
Rise and shape
Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 3 hours. Punch down risen dough and divide in half.
Place halves in two greased pans. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Bake and cool
Brush tops with remaining beaten egg. Bake in 350°F oven for 20–30 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on wire racks.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| 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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten structure that holds the dough's shape and gas.
- Eggs
- Add richness, help bind the dough, and brown the crust.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, feeds the yeast, and helps the crust brown.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the dough.
The step that matters
Kneading until smooth and satiny. Kneading develops the gluten network, which traps the gas from the yeast. Under-kneaded dough rises poorly and holds its shape badly in the pans.
“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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