Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Take two and one half cupfuls unbolted flour, two and one half corn-meal, one and one half buttermilk, one cup warm water, one half teacupful molasses, one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful soda; stir all together and mix well.
Grease a pan well, pour in the batter, set in a steamer over a pot of boiling water.
Steam
Keep up the steam and let it cook for three hours.
Finish in the oven
Take it out, lay it on a paper, set in a moderately heated oven, but not long enough to brown it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| 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.
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.
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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Corn + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together89 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Unbolted flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the loaf together as it cooks.
- Corn-meal
- Adds a coarser, grainy texture to the crumb.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity reacts with the soda and adds moisture and tang.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and the dark color of the bread.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to produce gas that makes the bread rise.
The step that matters
Keep up the steam. Steady steam keeps the batter moist and heats it evenly while it rises and sets. If the water boils low and the steam drops, the bread can turn out dense, wet, or gummy in the middle.
“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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