Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Dough Nuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Place the flour, butter, and sugar in a basin; mix well with your fingers until blended.
Add the baking powder and mix with a spoon.
Beat the egg on a plate, add the milk, and mix with the above ingredients in a basin, stirring well.
Flour a paste board, turn out the mixture (which should be stiff), knead lightly, flour the board again, and roll out the paste.
Fill and shape
Cut out small rounds about one inch thick, put a little jam on half of them, and cover with the other halves.
Fasten the sides lightly, without pressing.
Fry and finish
Drop the doughnuts into heated butter or clarified fat, fry for three or four minutes until brown, keeping them well covered with fat.
Drain the doughnuts on blotting paper, and cover with sifted sugar.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough that holds the doughnut together.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds richness and structure as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas so the dough rises and turns light.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavour in the dough.
- Milk
- Adds moisture so the flour can form a workable dough.
The step that matters
Keeping the doughnuts covered with fat while frying. If the doughnuts are not fully submerged, the exposed parts cook unevenly and absorb more fat, and the heat transfer stays uneven, so they may brown unevenly.
“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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