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 ↓
Whole Wheat 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 starter
Dissolve the yeast foam in enough warm water to cover it in a cup.
Scald 1 tablespoon of flour.
Add more flour and water to make a thick rising.
Add the yeast to the rising.
Cover and let stand in a warm place from early afternoon until bedtime.
Make the dough and bake
In a bread pan, combine most of the whole wheat flour and the salt.
Make a well in the flour.
Pour in the rising and 3 pints of warm water.
Gradually mix in flour until you have a stiff sponge. Beat well.
Cover with a woolen cloth and paper. Set over warm water.
In the morning, mix into a hard loaf.
Let rise until light.
Knead down.
Let rise again before shaping into loaves.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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 + wheattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yeast foam
- Ferments the rising, producing gas that lifts the dough.
- Whole wheat flour
- Forms the gluten structure and body of the loaf, giving a firm, hearty crumb.
- Flour
- Feeds the rising so the yeast has starch to work on before the main dough is mixed.
The step that matters
Letting the sponge rise until light. The long rise lets yeast produce gas and develop flavour, and the dough must be fully risen before shaping so the loaves do not stay dense.
“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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