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 ↓
Indian Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, rye flour, Graham flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, mix tepid water, molasses, and yeast until dissolved.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Transfer the dough to a greased baking dish and bake for 3 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.
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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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Provides the bulk and coarse, grainy texture of the loaf.
- Rye flour
- Adds structure and a dense, moist crumb with a distinct flavor.
- Graham flour
- Adds coarse bran and wholegrain body, contributing to a hearty texture.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture, and helps the crust brown.
- Yeast
- Ferments the dough so it rises and becomes lighter before baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acidity to add lift and tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Letting the dough rise until doubled. Yeast needs enough time to produce gas and expand the dough; under-proofed dough bakes up dense, while the heavy grain flours slow the rise and make it hard to judge by time alone.
“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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