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 ↓
Raised French Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Make a paste with the flour.
Knead the paste well into a ball.
Press your thumb into the center of the dough.
Shape the dough into an oval or round form, about 5 inches high.
Place the dough on a sheet of paper.
Shape and bake
Fill the dough with coarse flour or bran.
Roll out a covering of the same thickness as the sides.
Attach the covering with egg yolk.
Cut the edges evenly.
Pinch the edges with your fingers.
Brush the top with egg yolk.
Decorate the top as desired.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until golden brown.
Finish and serve
Once baked, cut out the top.
Remove the filling from the top.
Clean the top.
Fill the pie with your chosen fricassee.
Serve with a napkin underneath.
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).
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Flour + chickentop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,559 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Egg + chickentop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,991 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the paste and dough that holds the pie's shape while baking.
- Egg yolk
- Glues the lid to the sides and, brushed on top, promotes browning and a glossy golden finish.
The step that matters
Bake in a slow oven until golden brown. A slow oven lets the thick dough walls cook through without the outside browning too fast. Browning comes from the egg yolk and dough surface, so check colour and interior doneness together.
“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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