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 ↓
Bread, Biscuits, Etc
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the dough
Mix flour and yeast as soft as can be handled.
Knead thoroughly.
Put dough in warm place to rise.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven with steady fire.
Ordinary sized loaves require one hour.
Biscuits require a quicker oven.
Make the batter
Make a thin batter of flour and three cups of water.
Add softened yeast to the batter.
When light, add salt, butter, milk, three cups of water, and enough flour to make very stiff.
Let it rise overnight.
Finish the dough
In the morning add more flour.
Knead thoroughly and shape into loaves.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Cake | 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour (in the method)
- Builds the structure of the dough as its proteins form gluten when kneaded.
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes it rise and become light.
- Butter
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and gives a richer texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and milk sugars that help the crumb stay soft and the crust brown.
The step that matters
Add salt only after the batter is light. Salt slows yeast activity, so letting the batter rise first lets the yeast build gas and strength before salt is added.
“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.
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 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.