Why it works: Flour and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, combine graham flour, white flour, cornmeal, and baking soda.
Stir in molasses and sour cream until well mixed.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a suitable steaming container.
Steam for three and a half hours.
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 + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,408 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to produce gas, helping the bread rise and turn light.
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk and the coarse, wholesome texture of the bread.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the bread.
- Sour cream
- Adds acidity to activate the baking soda and contributes moisture and tenderness.
- Cornmeal
- Adds grainy texture and body to the crumb.
The step that matters
Steam for three and a half hours. Steaming gently and steadily cooks the batter through without drying it. The container must be kept covered and the water kept topped up so the steam stays constant.
“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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