Why it works: Milk and wheat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Light Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sponge
Mix 1 cup lukewarm water, 1 cake of yeast, and enough white flour to achieve a sponge cake consistency.
Cover and let it sit in a warm place (about 90°F) until foamy.
Add 3 pints of lukewarm water or scalded milk, 2 teaspoons of salt, a little sugar, and a piece of butter or fat to the sponge.
Stir in enough white flour to match the sponge's consistency.
Beat the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes.
Dust the top with flour.
Let it rise in a warm place until light.
Knead and shape
Once risen, add enough whole wheat flour to form a stiff dough.
Knead on a floured surface for at least 30 minutes.
Shape the dough into loaves without kneading.
Place loaves in pans.
Prick the tops with a fork several times.
Let the loaves rise again until light.
Bake and cool
Bake in a hot oven (400°F) for about 1 hour, covering the tops with oiled paper for the first 20 to 30 minutes.
Once done, cool the bread on a sieve or in towels.
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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Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + wheattop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,002 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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
- Yeast
- Ferments the sponge, producing gas that makes the dough rise and become light.
- White flour
- Forms the sponge, providing gluten structure that traps the gas from fermentation.
- Whole wheat flour
- Adds bulk and a nutty, denser texture to the stiff dough.
- Salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens the gluten for a more even crumb.
- Butter or fat
- Tenderizes the crumb and adds richness to the dough.
The step that matters
Kneading the stiff dough. Kneading for a long time develops gluten strands that trap gas, giving the loaves structure and a light crumb. Dough that is under-kneaded may rise poorly and bake up 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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