Why it works: Milk and flour 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 ↓
Yeast Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and water. Let stand until foamy.
Add oil to yeast mixture. Gradually stir in nonfat dry milk, salt, and enough of the flour to make the dough stiff enough to pull away from the edges of the bowl.
On a floured surface, knead dough 2–4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
Shape and rise
Roll dough in a 12 × 7‑inch rectangle. Roll up from the narrow end to form a loaf and pinch edges to seal.
Place loaf in a greased 8½ × 4½‑inch glass loaf pan and cover.
Fill a large shallow pan half full with boiling water on the counter top. Place a baking sheet over the pan of boiling water.
Set the covered bread dough on the baking sheet and let dough rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake and serve
Bake in a 375°F oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove loaf from pan and cool on a rack. Slice with a serrated knife to serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Rapid rise yeast
- Ferments the sugars and produces gas that makes the dough rise.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms gluten with kneading, giving the bread its structure and chew.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast so it foams and ferments quickly, and adds mild sweetness.
- Vegetable oil
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and keeps the bread moist.
- Instant nonfat dry milk
- Adds milk solids that promote gentle browning and a softer crumb.
The step that matters
Knead until smooth and elastic. Kneading aligns gluten strands into a network that traps the gas yeast produces. Under-kneaded dough rises poorly and bakes dense, while the rest period lets the gluten relax so the dough is easier to shape.
“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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