Why it works: Flour and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Boston Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Mix cornmeal, graham flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Stir in molasses and hot water until well combined.
Beat the mixture and pour it into a basin.
Steam and dry
Steam for 2 hours.
Transfer to an oven and dry for 15 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 + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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 molasses acid to lift and lighten the dense batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture while its acidity activates the baking soda.
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk structure and the coarse, hearty texture of the bread.
- Cornmeal
- Adds body and a slightly grainy texture to the loaf.
The step that matters
Steam for the full 2 hours. Steam keeps the batter moist and gently sets the loaf as it rises. Cutting the steaming short leaves a dense, gummy center, and the water level must be kept up so the steam stays constant.
“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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