Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Brown Bread and Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the dough
Combine 2 cups of Graham flour with 1 cup of warm water in a large bowl.
Add 1 packet of yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt, then mix well.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth.
Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Shape the dough into a loaf and place it in a greased loaf pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
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.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Graham flour
- Forms the main structure of the loaf and gives it its wheat flavour and texture.
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough so it rises and becomes light and airy.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and the dough becomes workable.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds a little sweetness and browning.
The step that matters
Letting the dough rise until doubled. Yeast needs enough time and warmth to produce gas that expands the dough. Under-proofed dough bakes dense, while the rise is what gives the loaf its open crumb.
“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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