Why it works: Molasses and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
New England Mixed Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Pour boiling water over cornmeal until well scalded.
When cool enough to touch, stir in molasses and yeast.
Add brown flour and knead the mixture well.
Rise and bake
Let the dough rise until light.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for four hours, starting at a lower temperature. Bake slowly at first.
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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Molasses + flourtop 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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the coarse, crumbly body of the bread and absorbs the scalding water.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise until light.
- Brown flour
- Its gluten gives the kneaded dough enough structure to hold its shape.
The step that matters
Bake slowly at first. Cornmeal dough is dense and heavy, so a gentle start lets the centre cook through before the crust sets and darkens too quickly.
“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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