Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Gluten Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Pour a pint of boiling water into a pint of milk.
Add a teaspoonful of butter and a teaspoonful of salt.
Let the mixture stand until it is lukewarm.
Add a well-beaten egg, a quarter of a yeast-cake dissolved, and enough gluten to make a soft batter.
Cover and let stand in a warm place to rise.
Add enough gluten to make a soft dough, and knead it well.
Shape and bake
Form the dough into four loaves.
Let the loaves rise again.
Bake for one hour.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gluten (in the method)
- Provides the protein structure that traps gas and gives the loaves their chewy, sturdy crumb.
- Yeast-cake (in the method)
- Produces carbon dioxide as it ferments, making the dough rise and become light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, richness and softness to the dough and gives a tender crust.
- Egg (in the method)
- Adds structure and richness, helping the dough hold its shape and bake tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which softens the crumb and gives a richer flavor and texture.
The step that matters
Kneading the dough well. Kneading develops the gluten network so the dough can trap the gas from the yeast. Under-kneaded dough rises poorly and bakes dense.
“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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