Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
White Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sponge
In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, and enough flour to create a thin sponge.
Sprinkle the top with flour and set in a warm place to rise overnight.
Knead and bake
In the morning, add more flour to form a stiff dough and knead until it no longer sticks to your hands.
If desired, add a little soda and butter while kneading.
Let the dough rise again, then knead thoroughly and shape into loaves.
When the loaves are light, bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°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.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Gluten proteins form the network that gives the loaf its structure and chew.
- Yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the flour so its proteins can form gluten and the yeast can become active.
The step that matters
Knead the stiff dough until it no longer sticks. Kneading builds the gluten network that traps the gas yeast produces. Under-kneaded dough rises poorly and bakes up dense and crumbly.
“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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