Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make and bake the batter
In a large bowl, combine Indian meal, flour, buttermilk, molasses, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.
Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 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
- Indian meal
- Provides the coarse cornmeal body and texture that gives this bread its character.
- Flour
- Adds structure so the bread holds its shape after baking.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a deep flavor to the bread.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that leavens the batter.
The step that matters
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Baking soda starts rising as soon as it meets the buttermilk, so the batter should go into the oven promptly. The bread is done when the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean, since an underbaked center stays wet and gummy.
“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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