Why it works: Flour and butter 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 ↓
Hot Water Ginger Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Add the boiling water to the molasses.
Sift together the flour, ginger, baking powder, and salt.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures, then add the melted butter and beat vigorously.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 35 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 + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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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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Ginger + buttertop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,152 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Flour and butter 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
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, dark colour and moisture, and gives the gingerbread its characteristic flavour.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the batter together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the gingerbread rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Beat the batter vigorously after adding the butter. Vigorous beating develops gluten in the flour, which gives the gingerbread its structure. Beating well also distributes the leavening evenly so the crumb rises uniformly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, flour, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, flour, butter. 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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