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
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine the Indian meal, graham flour, white flour, molasses, raisins, baking soda, and buttermilk.
Mix until well combined, adding more buttermilk if needed.
Add coarse sea salt to taste.
Steam
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming mold.
Steam for 3½ hours.
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.
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
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
- Indian meal
- Provides the coarse, crumbly body that gives this steamed bread its structure.
- Graham flour
- Adds a nutty, hearty texture and deeper color to the crumb.
- White flour
- Adds gluten-forming structure so the loaf holds together after steaming.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture, along with its characteristic flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity in buttermilk to produce gas that lightens the loaf.
- Buttermilk
- Supplies moisture and acidity that activate the baking soda and tenderize the crumb.
The step that matters
Adding buttermilk to the batter. The batter should be wet enough to mix smoothly and rise, since baking soda needs acid and liquid to release gas. Too little buttermilk can leave the loaf dense and heavy.
“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.