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 ↓
White Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Warm the basins.
Combine yeast and sugar in a smaller basin.
Sift flour and salt in a larger basin.
Warm the flour.
Make the dough
Cream the yeast and sugar, then add the tepid water.
Make a hollow in the flour, pour in the yeast mixture, stir in a little flour, and sprinkle some on top.
Cover and let the sponge work for 20 minutes in a warm place.
Combine the sponge and flour.
Flour the board and turn the dough onto it.
Knead well.
Return the dough to the warm basin and let it rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Shape and bake
Warm and grease a bread tin.
Mould the dough into a loaf with minimal handling.
Place the loaf in the tin, prick or cut the top, and let it prove for 30 minutes.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 to 45 minutes.
Cool the bread slowly on a sieve.
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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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
- Household flour
- Provides the gluten network that traps gas and gives the loaf its structure.
- German yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide during fermentation, which makes the dough rise.
- Salt
- Strengthens the gluten and controls the pace of yeast fermentation.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast so it becomes active and produces gas quickly.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and activates the yeast.
The step that matters
Knead well. Kneading develops the gluten network that holds the gas produced by the yeast. Under-kneaded dough rises poorly and gives a dense, crumbly loaf.
“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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