Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Egg Cracknels
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 dough
Sift together sugar, baking powder, and flour.
Rub in the butter and add the beaten eggs.
Flour the molding board, place the dough on it, and knead for a few minutes.
Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
Roll out the dough very thin, about 1/8 inch, and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Boil and bake
Prepare a pot of boiling water and a large bowl of cold water.
Drop a few cut pieces into the boiling water.
When they rise to the surface and curl at the edges, remove with a skimmer and place in cold water.
Once all are done, lay them on baking pans.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add richness and structure as they set.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and gives a short, crisp texture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that lifts the dough so the cracknels puff and lighten.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the dough once it is kneaded and rolled.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cracknels brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Rolling the dough very thin before boiling. Thin pieces cook through evenly and quickly in boiling water, and rise and curl at the edges as a sign they are ready. Thick dough stays dense and may not cook through properly in the oven.
“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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