Why it works: Rye and corn work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 182 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Mix the batter
In a large bowl, combine rye meal, corn meal, flour, salt, and baking soda.
Mix in sour milk and molasses until the batter is soft enough to pour.
Bake
Pour the batter into a deep baking dish.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 2 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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Rye + corntop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together182 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rye meal
- Provides the dark, hearty body and the characteristic flavour of the bread.
- Corn meal
- Adds coarse texture and structure to the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Sour milk
- Supplies moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda.
- New orleans molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the bread.
The step that matters
Mix only until the batter is soft enough to pour. Baking soda begins reacting as soon as it meets the acidic sour milk, so the batter should go into the dish and into the oven promptly. Overmixing or waiting can waste that lift.
“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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