Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Graham Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, combine graham flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, lard, salt, and sugar.
Add milk and mix until well combined.
Let the mixture rise until doubled in size.
In another bowl, beat the egg and mix with the risen dough.
Bake
Add baking powder and mix until smooth.
Pour the batter into greased muffin tins.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the wholesome, nutty body and coarse texture that defines the muffin.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds gluten-forming structure so the muffins hold their shape.
- Yeast
- Produces gas during the rise, leavening the dough and giving it an airy crumb.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flours and adds moisture and softness to the crumb.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping bind the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, giving additional lift to the muffins.
The step that matters
Letting the dough rise until doubled. Yeast needs enough time to produce gas and build the airy structure. Underproofed dough bakes up dense, while the dough should be risen before the egg and baking powder are added.
“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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