Why it works: Flour and milk 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 ↓
Indian 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
Combine the cornmeal, flour, milk, molasses, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
Steam and bake
Pour the mixture into a steamer and steam for 2 hours.
After steaming, bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Molasses + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,408 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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
- Cornmeal
- Provides the bulk and coarse, grainy texture of the bread.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds structure so the bread holds together after steaming and baking.
- Milk
- Supplies moisture and helps the dry ingredients form a batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the bread.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic ingredients to produce gas that lightens the bread.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter, helping the baking soda react and stabilizing the rise.
The step that matters
Steaming before baking. Steaming for the full 2 hours keeps the bread moist and lets the leavening act before the oven sets the crumb. Skipping or shortening the steam can leave the loaf dense or dry.
“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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