Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Baking Powder Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.
Add enough water to form a stiff dough and mix quickly with a large spoon.
Transfer the dough to a well-greased brick-shaped baking pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 1 hour, covering with paper for the first half to prevent over-browning.
Ensure the oven is heated before mixing the dough and the pan is greased.
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.
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the dough's structure, setting the crumb as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when wet and heated, lifting the dough so it rises without yeast.
- Sugar
- Adds mild sweetness and helps the crust brown.
The step that matters
Mix the dough quickly and bake it promptly. Baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it meets water, so slow mixing or waiting before baking loses lift and gives a denser loaf.
“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.
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.