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.
Add molasses, baking soda, salt, and yeast to the mixture.
Mix in warm water until the dough is stiff enough to be stirred with a spoon.
Let the dough rise overnight.
Shape and bake
Transfer the dough to a large pan and smooth the top with your hand dipped in cold water.
Let it stand for a short time before baking.
Bake for 5 to 6 hours, or overnight if put in the oven late in the day.
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 body of the loaf and gives its characteristic flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture, and helps the crust brown during long baking.
- Indian meal
- Provides the bulk of the grain structure, setting the crumb as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to lift the dough and lighten the crumb.
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough during the overnight rise, producing gas that leavens the bread.
The step that matters
Scald the rye meal. Pouring boiling water over the meal gelatinizes its starches so the dough holds together and stays moist. Too little water leaves dry, crumbly pockets, while stirring constantly ensures an even wetting without lumps.
“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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