Why it works: Rye and molasses work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Rye and Corn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the dough
Scald the Indian meal by pouring just enough boiling water over it to wet it, stirring constantly.
Mix in the rye meal or flour, molasses, salt, and yeast, adding warm water to make a stiff mixture.
Let the mixture rise overnight.
Shape and bake
In the morning, add the baking soda dissolved in a little water.
Transfer the dough to a large pan.
Smooth the top with a hand dipped in cold water.
Let it stand for a short time.
Bake for 5 to 6 hours at 300°F (150°C).
If baking late in the day, let it remain in the oven overnight.
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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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 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
- Rye meal or rye flour
- Provides the dense, earthy structure and flavor characteristic of rye bread.
- Indian meal
- Scalding sets its starch so the dough holds a firm, moist crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture, and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Yeast
- Ferments the stiff mixture overnight, producing gas that lifts and aerates the loaf.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acidity to add lift and a tender texture.
The step that matters
Scalding the Indian meal. Pouring only just enough boiling water wets the cornmeal and gelatinizes its starch while keeping the mixture stiff. Too much water makes a soggy loaf that will not rise or set properly.
“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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