Why it works: Milk and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
Bread Sauted
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the egg in a shallow dish.
Add the salt, sugar, and milk; beat thoroughly.
Dip stale slices of bread in the mixture until soft.
Fry and serve
Drain the bread and fry in a little hot cooking oil, turning to brown both sides.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
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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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 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).
Milk and sugar 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
- Binds the milk mixture and helps the bread hold together while frying.
- Milk
- Soaks into the bread, adding moisture and softening it for frying.
- Stale bread
- Absorbs the custard-like mixture and fries to a crisp, golden exterior.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during frying.
The step that matters
Fry in hot oil and turn to brown both sides. If the oil is not hot enough, the bread absorbs excess oil and turns greasy instead of crisp. Turning ensures even browning and a set exterior.
“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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