Why it works: Beer and milk work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 298 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
To Make French Bread
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, place the flour and make a hole in the center.
Mix the yeast with warm water and pour it into the hole in the flour.
Stir until the mixture is tough, then cover with a flannel and let it rise until doubled in size.
Once risen, add the warm skimmed milk and salt to the dough.
Using your fingers, work the dough until it becomes weak and ropy.
Preheat the oven to a very hot temperature.
Carefully transfer the dough to a floured surface and shape it as desired.
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.
-
Beer + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together298 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + beertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together781 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
More french 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.