Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Parker House Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Heat the milk until it boils.
Let the milk cool.
Stir in the flour until it absorbs the milk.
Add the sugar, yeast, and butter.
Set aside to rise.
Shape into a loaf using as little flour as possible.
Let rise for about 1 hour.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough to a thickness suitable for cookies.
Cut with a cookie cutter.
Place a little butter in the center.
Fold over.
Place in a tin.
Let rise again.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten structure that holds the rolls together and gives them their chew.
- Yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, and its proteins help give a tender crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and enriches the flavor.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and some browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Let the milk cool before adding the yeast. Milk that is still very hot can kill yeast cells, so the dough would fail to rise. Cooling the milk keeps the yeast alive and active.
“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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