Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Soft Ginger 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, sugar, ginger, and milk.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Make the batter
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake and serve
Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve hot with sauce.
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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the gingerbread's crumb together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, lifting the batter so the gingerbread rises and stays light.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture that keeps the gingerbread soft.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softens the crumb, making the texture more tender.
- Ginger
- Adds the warm, spicy aroma that defines the gingerbread flavor.
The step that matters
Mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Adding the dry ingredients gradually and stopping once the batter is smooth keeps it from being overmixed. Overmixing develops too much gluten in the flour, which makes the gingerbread tough instead of soft.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, flour, cinnamon, milk):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, flour, cinnamon, milk. 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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