Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Puff Paste
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fierce oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Flour your hands and rolling pin to prevent sticking.
Roll the pastry three times, folding it in half and turning the rough edges to the front after each roll.
Moisten the edge of the pie dish and lay a strip of pastry ¾ inch thick around the edge.
Moisten the edge again and roll out a thinner piece of pastry for the top.
Brush the top of the pastry with yolk of egg and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C).
Once baked, move the pie to the cooler part of the oven to finish cooking the inside.
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 + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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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