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Bread

Gluten Bread

A whole wheat loaf made with yeast, molasses, and water, baked at 350°F.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Gluten Bread

Why it works: Wheat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Gluten Bread

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the sponge

  1. In the evening, mix half of the flour, half of the water, and the yeast to make a sponge.

Make the dough

  1. At around 9 p.m., add the remaining water and flour, salt, and molasses.

  2. Knead in an additional ½ cup of flour until smooth and soft.

  3. Let the dough rise overnight.

Shape and bake

  1. Shape into two loaves and let rise until doubled in size.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 50 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,373 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,429 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Wheat + molassestop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together702 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Whole wheat flour
Provides the structure of the loaf and the nutty, hearty flavor of whole grain.
Yeast
Ferments the sugars in the dough, producing gas that makes the loaves rise.
New orleans molasses
Adds sweetness and a deep flavor, and feeds the yeast during fermentation.
Water
Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and the dough becomes workable.

The step that matters

Letting the dough rise overnight. Long, slow fermentation lets the yeast develop flavor and gives the dough enough time to build gas and structure. Under-proofing leaves a dense loaf, while over-proofing can cause it to collapse.

“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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