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 ↓
Vienna Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Dissolve the compressed yeast cake in half a cup of cold water.
Add the salt to the wetting mixture (milk, salt, water), which should be lukewarm (~80°F), then add the yeast.
Stir in flour enough to make a stiff batter; beat thoroughly.
Add enough more flour to make a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead until soft and velvety; when it no longer sticks to hands or board, flour is sufficient.
Rise and shape
Place the dough in a buttered bowl, brush the top with melted butter or drippings, cover with a towel and let rise for three hours, or until doubled in bulk, keeping it at about 75°F.
When the dough is light, shape into loaves or rolls and place in pans; butter the tops and allow to stand one hour, or until light.
Bake
Bake in a hot oven until nicely browned all over; baking time is 45 minutes to one hour per loaf.
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 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| 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.
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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
- Flour
- Forms the dough structure and gluten network that gives the loaf its chewy crumb.
- Compressed yeast
- Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes it rise and become light.
- Milk
- Adds richness and softness to the crumb and helps browning.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat that softens the crust and promotes even browning on the top.
The step that matters
Kneading to the right dough consistency. Too little flour leaves the dough sticky and dense, while too much makes it stiff and dry. Kneading until the dough no longer sticks to hands or board develops gluten for a light, elastic texture.
“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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