Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Soda Biscuit
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°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 the dough
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a large bowl, rub the lard into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the sweet milk, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overwork the dough.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about ½ inch thick.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the biscuit as its proteins hydrate and set in the oven.
- Lard
- Rubbed into the flour to create fat pockets that make the biscuit tender and flaky.
- Sweet milk
- Hydrates the flour to form the dough and adds moisture for a soft crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic component that reacts with baking soda to produce gas for rising.
- Baking soda
- Alkaline leavener that reacts with the acid to lift the biscuits and aid browning.
The step that matters
Mix until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the biscuits tough and dense instead of tender. Stop as soon as the dough comes together.
“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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