Why it works: Milk and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scald one pint of milk and allow it to cool.
Dissolve one-quarter ounce of yeast in one-half cup of water.
Sift enough Graham meal to make a dough as stiff as can be beaten with a wooden spoon—about six cups.
Make and rise the dough
Mix the milk, brown sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and Graham meal in the order given, beating until smooth.
Let the dough rise very light.
Shape and bake
Shape the dough into loaves using a knife and spoon, placing them in pans.
Let the loaves rise again until they double in bulk.
Bake in an oven less hot than that needed for white bread, for a little longer.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 meal (in the method)
- Forms the bulk of the dough, providing structure and a hearty, nutty texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the crumb and aiding browning in the crust.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, causing the dough to rise and become light.
- Brown sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds a touch of sweetness and color to the crust.
The step that matters
Bake at a lower heat. Graham meal contains bran and germ that brown faster than white flour, so a cooler oven for a slightly longer time lets the loaves cook through without scorching the crust.
“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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