Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast and molasses in the lukewarm water and scalded, cooled milk.
Add the melted lard or butter and stir in the flour and salt gradually until the dough is just stiff enough to handle.
Knead the dough thoroughly, keeping it soft.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
Shape and bake
Turn the dough out onto a board, knead it into loaves, and place in well-buttered pans.
Let the loaves rise again until light and bake for 1 hour in a cool oven at 300°F (150°C).
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Butter and flour 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk of the structure and the nutty, coarse texture of the loaf.
- White flour
- Adds gluten strength so the dough holds its shape and rises well.
- Yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Molasses
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness, colour and a deep flavour.
- Lard or butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and softens the texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the crumb and browning the crust.
The step that matters
Kneading and rising the dough. Kneading develops gluten so the dough traps gas, and the rise must reach doubled volume before shaping, because under-proofed dough bakes dense while over-proofed dough collapses. Graham flour's bran cuts into gluten, so the dough must be kept soft and well kneaded.
“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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