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 Indian Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Scald the rye meal by pouring just enough boiling water over it to wet it, stirring constantly. Do not make a batter.
Add molasses, baking soda, salt, and yeast. Mix until stiff enough to be stirred with a spoon, using warm water as needed.
Let the mixture rise overnight.
Bake
Transfer to a large pan and smooth the top with a hand dipped in cold water.
Let it stand for a short time, then bake for 5 to 6 hours. 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.
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 + 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
- Forms the dense, moist crumb and gives the bread its characteristic flavor.
- Indian meal
- Adds bulk and a coarse, hearty texture to the loaf.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture, and helps browning during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses' acidity to lighten the crumb and aid rising.
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough during the overnight rise, producing gas that leavens the loaf.
The step that matters
Scalding the rye meal. Adding only just enough boiling water wets the starches and softens the bran so the dough can form. Too much water makes a batter that will not hold its shape and rise well.
“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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