Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Mix the batter
In a bowl, mix the salt with the cornmeal and graham flour.
Add the molasses to the dry ingredients and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda and sour milk, then add to the mixture. Mix carefully to ensure even consistency.
Steam and brown
Pour the batter into a covered crock and steam for 2 hours in a kettle of boiling water.
After steaming, place the crock in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 minutes to 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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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + gingertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,519 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Milk and flour 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
- Sour milk
- Reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter and adds tang.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that leavens the bread.
- Yellow cornmeal
- Provides the bulk and coarse, crumbly texture of the loaf.
- Graham flour
- Adds structure and a nutty, wholesome flavour to the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the bread.
The step that matters
Steaming the batter. The crock must stay covered and the kettle must keep boiling for the full two hours. Steam keeps the loaf moist and lets the leavening set it, so letting the water dry out or lifting the lid can leave the bread dense or uneven.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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