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 ↓
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
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Cut in the butter or lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in the buttermilk until the dough is smooth.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto 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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + buttermilktop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Provides the structure that holds the biscuits together as they bake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that helps the biscuits rise.
- Baking powder
- Adds additional leavening so the biscuits rise evenly and lightly.
- Butter or lard
- Cut into the flour to create fat pockets that make the biscuits tender and flaky.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda and tenderizes the dough.
The step that matters
Cut in the butter or lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Overworking the dough or fully blending the fat into the flour develops gluten and melts the fat, making the biscuits tough and dense rather than tender and flaky. Keep the fat in small, cold pieces.
“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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