Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
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.
Make the batter
Dissolve the baking soda in a little water and add it to the sour milk.
Stir in the brown sugar, molasses, and salt.
Gradually mix in the graham flour and then fold in the raisins.
Rise and bake
Pour the batter into tins and let it rise for one hour.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for one hour.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to produce gas that leavens the bread.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour milk to release carbon dioxide, helping the loaf rise.
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk and structure of the loaf, with its bran giving a coarse, hearty texture.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness that also aids browning.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and contributes to a softer crumb and browning.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda before adding it to the sour milk. Baking soda must be fully dissolved and evenly distributed so it reacts with the acid in the sour milk throughout the batter. Uneven distribution leaves pockets of bitter soda and uneven rising.
“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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