Why it works: Flour and wheat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,373 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Graham 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 dough
Take sponge for the desired number of loaves at night.
Add 1 cup of Graham flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar for each loaf (molasses may be used instead).
Knead with wheat flour until it no longer sticks to your hands.
Set the dough in a moderately warm place until morning.
Knead well again.
Shape and bake
When very light, place into pans.
When quite light, bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 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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Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + wheattop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,071 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Graham flour
- Provides the bran and wholemeal body that gives this bread its coarse, nutty texture.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast during rising and adds a little sweetness and browning to the crust.
- Wheat flour
- Adds gluten-forming protein so the dough becomes elastic and holds its shape while kneading.
The step that matters
Knead with wheat flour until it no longer sticks to your hands. Kneading develops gluten, which traps the gas from fermentation. Graham flour's bran cuts into gluten, so the dough needs enough kneading to become smooth and elastic before it rises.
“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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