Why it works: Flour and rye 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 ↓
Steamed 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.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the flour, rye meal, cornmeal, molasses, sour milk, egg, salt, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pan.
Steam and finish
Steam for 3 hours.
After steaming, place the pan in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
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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Flour + ryetop 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).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the bread together as it sets.
- Rye meal
- Adds earthy flavor and moisture, with a denser crumb than wheat flour alone.
- Cornmeal
- Adds coarse texture and body to the crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the bread rises.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lightens the batter.
The step that matters
Steam for 3 hours. Steam keeps the batter moist and lets the leavening set the bread gently while it rises. Letting the pot boil dry or leaving the pan uncovered can dry the bread out, so the water level needs checking during the long steam.
“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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