Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Modern Cookery
Ingredients
Directions
Press moisture from the butter using a soft cloth and form it into a ball without softening it too much.
If the butter is too warm, cool it in a basin of water mixed with salt and saltpetre for an hour.
Roll out the crust square and large enough to enclose the butter.
Flatten the butter slightly in the center of the crust, fold the crust over it, and roll it out thinly, dusting with flour as needed.
Fold the dough in thirds to give it one turn, then set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
Repeat the rolling and folding process two more times, ensuring the butter does not break through the dough.
After two more turns, fold the dough in half to give it a half turn, and it will be ready for use.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
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