Why it works: Flour and rye match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
Combine Indian, rye, and graham flour in a bowl.
Add molasses, salt, baking soda, and sweet milk; mix well.
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming mold.
Steam and finish
Steam for three hours.
Remove the cover and let it stand in a 400°F (200°C) oven for ten minutes.
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.
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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Flour + ryetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian flour
- Provides the bulk and structure of the bread, giving it its characteristic coarse body.
- Rye flour
- Adds earthy flavour and a dense, moist crumb through its low gluten content.
- Graham flour
- Contributes bran and wholemeal texture, adding nutty flavour and a coarser crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture, and contributes to the bread's deep flavour.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to release gas, lifting and lightening the batter.
- Sweet milk
- Hydrates the flours so they form a batter and adds moisture and richness.
The step that matters
Steaming for the full three hours. Steam keeps the batter moist while the baking soda and molasses react and the starches set. Cutting the time short or letting the water boil dry can leave the bread gummy, sunken or unevenly cooked.
“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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