Why it works: Wheat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Rye Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sponge
To a quart of warm water, stir in as much wheat flour as will make a smooth batter.
Stir into it half a gill of home-made yeast, and set it in a warm place to rise.
Let it be mixed in a vessel that will contain twice the quantity of the sponge.
Make the dough
In the morning, put three pounds and a half of rye flour into a bowl or tray, make a hollow in the centre, pour in the sponge, add a dessert spoonful of salt, and half a small teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a little water.
Make the whole into a smooth dough, adding as much warm water as may be necessary.
Knead it well, cover it, and let it set in a warm place for three hours.
Then knead it again, and shape it into two or three loaves.
Bake
Bake in a quick oven for one hour if made in two loaves, or less if the loaves are smaller.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Wheat | 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.
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rye flour
- Forms the dense, dark crumb and the characteristic earthy flavour of the loaf.
- Wheat flour
- Its gluten builds an elastic network in the sponge that traps gas and gives structure.
- Yeast
- Ferments the sponge, producing gas that makes the dough rise and develops flavour.
The step that matters
Letting the sponge rise before mixing the dough. The yeast needs warmth and time to ferment the batter fully. A well-risen sponge gives the dough its lift and flavour, so an underactive sponge leads to a heavy loaf.
“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.
More rye bread recipes
You might also like
Wheat Gruel6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.