Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
To Make Good Plain Buns
12 bunsIngredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Warm the butter without oiling it.
Beat the butter with a wooden spoon.
Stir the flour gradually into the butter with the sugar, mixing well.
Make the milk lukewarm.
Beat the yolk of the egg and the essence of lemon into the lukewarm milk.
Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture.
Add the baking powder and beat the dough well for about 10 minutes.
Shape and bake
Divide the dough into 24 pieces.
Place the pieces into buttered tins or cups.
Bake in a brisk oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
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 + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and tenderness, and helps the buns brown in the oven.
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the structure that holds the buns together as they bake.
- Egg
- Adds richness and helps bind the dough.
- Milk
- Moistens the dough so the flour can form a soft, cohesive mixture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the buns rise and become light.
The step that matters
Beating the dough for about 10 minutes after adding the baking powder. Beating develops the gluten in the flour, giving structure, while the baking powder begins to release gas. Mixing too gently or too long after the leavener is added can leave the buns flat or tough, so the dough should be beaten thoroughly but not overworked.
“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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