Why it works: Wheat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Corn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cornmeal base
Boil 200 g of water.
Pour the boiled water over the cornmeal in a bowl. Mix well with a fork.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Make and rise the dough
Add the sourdough, wheat flour, salt, and the remaining water.
Knead until smooth.
Cover with a towel. Let rise for about 8 hours.
Fold the dough on itself a few times.
Shape and bake
Form into a round loaf.
Place on a pan covered with baking paper.
Make a couple cuts on the surface.
Let rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 240 °C.
Sprinkle the loaf with water.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Lower the oven temperature to 160 °C.
Keep baking for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Let it rest on a rack to cool down.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Sourdough | 1 slice (36g) | 93 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Wheat | 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Provides the corn flavour and a crumbly, tender structure in the crumb.
- Wheat flour
- Supplies gluten to give the dough elasticity and hold its shape.
- Sourdough
- Its live cultures leaven the dough and add tangy flavour during the long rise.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour and cornmeal so gluten develops and the dough stays moist.
The step that matters
Cooling the cornmeal mixture before adding the sourdough. Boiling water is hot enough to kill the sourdough's wild yeast and bacteria, so the mixture must cool to room temperature first to keep the starter alive and able to leaven the dough.
“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.
More cornbread recipes
You might also like
Wheat Bread65 recipes
Whole Wheat Bread55 recipes
Barley Wheat Bread6 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.