Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Brioche
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.
Cut the butter into small bits and mix it with the flour.
Add 6 eggs, one at a time, and work the mixture into a smooth paste.
If desired, add an additional egg or yolk if the flour can absorb it.
Ensure the paste is workable and not too moist.
Spread the leaven over the paste and mix well with your hands.
Cut the mixture into portions and incorporate the leaven evenly.
Dust a cloth with flour, roll the brioche in it, and place it in a pan.
Let it rise in a cool place in summer or a warm place in winter, preferably overnight.
Knead the brioche again in the morning.
Form the brioche into uniform balls, pressing the top slightly with your thumb.
Brush the tops with egg yolk and place a smaller ball in the hollow.
Glaze the brioche with egg yolk and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes or more.
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 + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
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