Why it works: Rye and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Mix the batter
In a large bowl, combine the rye meal, Indian meal, flour, and saleratus.
Add enough water or sour milk to make a soft batter that can run.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for a long time until cooked through.
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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Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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
- Rye meal
- Gives an earthy flavor and a dense, moist crumb, since rye has little gluten.
- Indian meal
- Adds a coarse, crumbly texture and a sweet corn flavor.
- Flour
- Adds some gluten to help hold the loaf together.
- Saleratus
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to release gas that lifts the batter.
The step that matters
Keep the batter soft and pourable. Rye and cornmeal soak up liquid slowly, so a batter that is too stiff bakes dense and heavy. Enough liquid lets the batter spread in the pan and bake evenly through.
“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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