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
Prepare the batter
Sift the baking soda through a fine sieve.
Add the sifted baking soda to the dry ingredients.
Sift again.
Mix in the molasses and sour milk. Beat well.
Steam
Pour the mixture into a buttered mold.
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.
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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Milk + ryetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas, which lets the bread rise.
- Sour milk
- Provides moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color to the bread.
- Cornmeal
- Adds coarse texture and body to the crumb.
- Graham flour
- Adds structure and a nutty, whole-grain flavor.
- Rye flour
- Adds flavor and structure, with a moist, dense crumb.
The step that matters
Add the sifted baking soda to the dry ingredients. Baking soda must be evenly dispersed through the dry ingredients before the liquids are added. Sifting breaks up lumps so no pockets of soda cause bitter spots or 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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