Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Bkown Kolls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Mix one quart graham flour, milk enough to make a stiff batter, and one-third cup yeast, and let the mixture rest overnight.
In the morning add two eggs, one large tablespoon of sugar, one-fourth teaspoon of soda, a piece of butter half the size of an egg, and a little salt.
Bake
Put the dough into cups and let stand twenty minutes before baking.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Graham flour
- Forms the bulk of the dough and gives the rolls their structure and hearty texture.
- Yeast
- Ferments overnight, producing gas that raises the dough and gives it a light texture.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the rolls hold together and bake up tender.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds a touch of sweetness and browning.
- Butter
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and gives a richer flavor.
The step that matters
Resting the dough overnight. The long rest lets the yeast ferment the batter slowly, building flavor and lift. Too short a rest leaves the rolls dense, since the yeast needs time to produce enough gas to raise 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.
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