Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Graham Crackers
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Sift together graham flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Rub in the butter cold, add the milk, and mix into a smooth, consistent dough.
Flour the board, turn out the dough, and knead it well for five minutes.
Roll it with the rolling pin to a thickness of one-quarter inch.
Shape and bake
Cut it with a knife into small, enveloped-shaped crackers.
Bake in a rather hot oven, with care (as they burn easily), for ten minutes.
Handle carefully while hot; when cold, store for use.
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 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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).
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 main structure of the dough and gives the crackers their whole-grain body.
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour as fat, it tenderises the dough and adds richness.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour so the dough comes together into a smooth, workable mass.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lighten the crackers slightly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crackers brown during baking.
The step that matters
Baking with care. Graham flour contains bran and sugar that scorch easily, so the crackers can burn quickly in a hot oven. Watching them closely keeps them from turning dark and bitter.
“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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