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 ↓
English Buttermilk Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Dissolve the baking soda in a little warm water.
Stir the foaming baking soda mixture into the buttermilk.
Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour and mix well.
Add more flour as needed to form a smooth dough.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut it into cake shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 to 20 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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the dough once mixed with liquid.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that works with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the buttermilk's acid to produce gas that makes the cakes rise.
The step that matters
Stir the foaming baking soda mixture into the buttermilk. Baking soda starts producing carbon dioxide as soon as it meets an acid, so the mixture should be combined and moved into the dough promptly. Waiting lets the gas escape before the dough can trap it, reducing rise.
“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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