Name: Indian Bread
Ingredients: 1½ cups Graham flour; 1 cup Indian meal; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; ⅓ cup molasses; 1½ cups milk

Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Indian Bread

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

In a large bowl, mix together the Graham flour, Indian meal, baking powder, salt, molasses, and milk until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming mold.
Steam the bread for about 2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,243 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

Graham flour: Provides the main structure and a hearty, wholesome texture to the bread.
Indian meal: Adds a coarse, crumbly texture and helps give the loaf its body.
Baking powder: Releases gas as it reacts with the batter, helping the bread rise and turn light.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture with a rich flavor.
Milk: Hydrates the flours and helps form a moist, cohesive batter.

“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.