Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Mix the batter
In a bowl, combine rye flour, graham flour, corn meal, salt, dark molasses, and baking powder.
If using sour milk, add baking soda.
Stir in sour milk until well mixed.
Fold in floured raisins if desired.
Steam and dry
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming pan.
Steam for 1 hour for every cup of mixture.
After steaming, dry the bread in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 30 minutes.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rye + corntop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together182 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Rye + raisintop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rye flour
- Adds a dense, hearty structure and a distinctive earthy flavour.
- Graham flour
- Contributes bran and body, giving the loaf a coarse, sturdy texture.
- Corn meal
- Adds grainy texture and helps the loaf hold a crumbly, moist crumb.
- Dark molasses
- Provides sweetness, moisture and the deep brown colour of the bread.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it reacts, lifting the batter so the bread rises during steaming.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of sour milk to produce gas for rising and some browning.
The step that matters
Steam for the full time. Steam keeps the batter moist while the leavening sets the crumb. Cutting the steaming short leaves a dense, gummy centre, so the pan should be fully steamed for the time given per cup of batter.
“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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