Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Bread Making
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
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt.
If using, add sugar and fat.
Gradually mix in water (or milk) until a dough forms.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Shape the dough into a loaf and place it in a greased loaf pan.
Let it rise again for about 30 minutes.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
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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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Wheat flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the bread its structure and chew.
- Yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide as it ferments, making the dough rise and become airy.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and dissolves the yeast and salt.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast for faster rising and adds a little sweetness and browning.
- Milk
- Adds softness and tenderness, and its sugars help the crust brown.
The step that matters
Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Kneading stretches and aligns gluten strands, which traps the gas from the yeast. Too little kneading gives a dense loaf, while too much flour on the surface can make the dough stiff.
“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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