Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, graham flour, baking soda, cornmeal, salt, and molasses, mixing until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming mold.
Steam for one and a half 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.
-
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 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
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda, producing gas that lifts the batter and gives a tender crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to release carbon dioxide, so the bread rises without yeast.
- Graham flour
- Coarse whole-wheat flour whose bran and germ add body, nutty flavour and a dense texture.
- Cornmeal
- Adds a grainy texture and structure, and its starch helps set the crumb during steaming.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture, and gives the bread its characteristic flavour.
The step that matters
Filling the steaming mold. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the buttermilk, so the batter should go into the mold promptly. Filling the mold too full leaves no room for the batter to rise during steaming.
“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.
More brown bread recipes
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.