Why it works: Milk and flour 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 ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Combine sour milk and molasses in a large bowl.
Add cornmeal, graham flour, all-purpose flour, and baking soda; mix well.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.
Steam for 2½ 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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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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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color and deep flavor.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the loaf a coarse, crumbly texture and structure.
- Graham flour
- Provides structure and a nutty, wholesome flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides gluten for structure so the loaf holds its shape.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that makes the bread rise.
The step that matters
Add cornmeal, graham flour, all-purpose flour, and baking soda; mix well.. Baking soda must be evenly distributed through the batter so the acid-base reaction produces gas throughout, giving an even rise and crumb.
“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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