Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Penny Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Soak 1 cup cake yeast foam in 1 cup warm water until soft.
Add 2 cups hot water, 2 tablespoons lard, 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon salt.
Add as much flour as can be stirred in, and let it set in a warm place for 18 hours.
Shape and rise
Shape into biscuits.
Let rise for 2 hours.
Bake
Bake in gem pans in a very hot oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Cake yeast
- Ferments the dough, producing gas that makes it rise.
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the gluten network that gives the muffins their structure.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the crumb hold together.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning.
- Lard (in the method)
- Adds fat, which tenderizes the crumb and softens texture.
The step that matters
Bake in a very hot oven. High heat drives rapid oven spring, so the risen dough expands quickly and its surface sets before the interior collapses, giving a light, even crumb.
“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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