Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Bread with Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine most of the flour with the salt and create a well in the center.
In a separate bowl, mix the yeast and sugar into a smooth paste, then gradually add the tepid water to avoid lumps.
Strain the yeast mixture into the well of flour and gradually incorporate the flour to form a light dough.
Knead the dough by hand until smooth, then cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in enough flour until it no longer sticks to your fingers or the board.
Shape and rise
Divide the dough into two or three pieces, knead lightly, and place in floured tins.
Allow the dough to rise again for about 1 hour.
Bake
Bake in a hot oven (400°F / 200°C) for the first part, then reduce to moderate heat (350°F / 175°C) and bake for 1 to 2 hours depending on size, without opening the oven door for the first 10 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.
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the dough's structure as gluten develops during kneading, giving the loaf its body.
- Yeast
- Ferments the sugars and produces gas that makes the dough rise and turn airy.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and dissolves the yeast to activate it.
- Salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens the dough's gluten for a firmer crumb.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast so it becomes active and starts fermenting quickly.
The step that matters
Adding flour during the final kneading. Too much flour makes the bread dense and dry, while too little leaves it sticky and hard to shape. Knead only until the dough stops sticking to your fingers and the board, so it keeps enough moisture to rise well in the oven.
“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 yeast 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.