Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sponge
Make a sponge by combining the yeast cake, sugar, warm water, and enough white flour to create a batter.
Shape and bake
When the sponge is light, add salt, baking soda, molasses, and enough graham flour to form a soft dough.
Place the dough in a greased and floured bread tin.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for about an hour or until done.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + molassestop 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
- Yeast cake
- Ferments the sponge, producing gas that makes the bread rise and grow light.
- Graham flour
- Provides the coarse, nutty body and texture that defines this bread.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a darker color to the crumb and crust.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acidity to add additional lift and deepen browning.
The step that matters
Waiting for the sponge to become light. Adding the rest of the ingredients before the sponge has fermented leaves the yeast underactive, so the loaf will rise poorly and turn out 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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