Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Soft Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Warm the milk and butter together, and add salt.
Beat the eggs lightly and stir them into the milk and butter.
Stir in the yeast, then add enough flour to make a thick batter.
Cover the mixture and let it rise in a warm place for about three hours.
Bake and serve
When the batter is light, grease the baking iron and muffin rings.
Set the rings on the iron and pour the batter into them.
Bake until light brown.
When removing, pull the muffins open with your hands, not a knife, to keep them from becoming heavy.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
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
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter hold its shape and set when baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a richer flavour in the batter.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that hydrates the flour and makes up the batter.
- Brewer's yeast
- Produces gas during the long rise, making the batter light and airy.
The step that matters
Letting the batter rise until light. The batter needs its full rise so the yeast can build gas and lighten the crumb; an underproofed batter bakes dense and heavy.
“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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