Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Federal 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).
Make the batter
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until well combined.
Add the baking powder and mix thoroughly.
Gradually add milk until the batter reaches a cake-like consistency.
Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans.
Bake and serve
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve hot.
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, setting the crumb as the batter bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning and a tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, making the loaf rise and become light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a cake-like consistency.
The step that matters
Gradually add milk until the batter reaches a cake-like consistency. Adding milk slowly lets you judge the batter's thickness. Too much liquid makes a loose batter that bakes heavy and sunken, while too little leaves it stiff and dry.
“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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