Why it works: Rye and flour 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 No. 5
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine the Indian meal, rye flour, sour milk, molasses, and boiling water.
Add the baking soda, salt, and ginger, and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming dish.
Steam
Steam for 3 hours.
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.
-
Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Rye + gingertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together54 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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
- Indian meal
- Provides the main body and structure of the loaf.
- Rye flour
- Adds a dense, hearty texture and deeper flavour to the loaf.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to release gas and lighten the crumb.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda. Baking soda reacts with the acid in the sour milk to produce gas for rising. Mixing it in thoroughly and steaming promptly after keeps the gas trapped and the loaf evenly light.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rye, flour, milk, molasses):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rye, flour, milk, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
More brown bread recipes
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.