Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, graham flour, buttermilk, molasses, baking soda, and salt, then mix until well combined.
Steam and brown
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming mold.
Steam for 2.5 to 3 hours.
After steaming, place the mold in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few minutes to brown the top.
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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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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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
- Cornmeal
- Provides the main body and coarse, crumbly structure of the bread.
- Graham flour
- Adds a coarser texture and a nutty, wheaty flavor to the crumb.
- Buttermilk
- Supplies moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the buttermilk's acid to produce gas that lightens the batter.
The step that matters
Pouring the batter into the mold. Baking soda starts reacting with the acid in buttermilk as soon as the two meet. Getting the batter into the mold and steaming promptly keeps that gas in the batter, so the bread rises rather than going flat and dense.
“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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