Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Mix the flour, egg, melted butter, and milk together thoroughly.
Add the yeast and mix well.
Set the mixture aside for 2 to 3 hours to rise.
Shape and cook
Once risen, shape the dough into balls the size of a large walnut.
Cover the balls with a flannel to keep them warm.
Place the balls on a heated plate and turn them as the bottom changes color.
Ensure they do not burn by adjusting the heat if necessary.
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.
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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 + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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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Egg + buttertop 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
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together and gives the muffins their body.
- Egg
- Adds structure and helps bind the dough as it sets when cooked.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the dough.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise before cooking.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and enriches the flavour.
The step that matters
Turning the balls on the heated plate without burning them. The outside browns quickly on a hot surface, while the inside needs time to cook through. Too much heat scorches the bottom before the centre sets, so the heat must be adjusted as needed.
“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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