Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. 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.
Make the dough
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the flour mixture.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing gently with your fingers until a smooth paste forms.
If needed, add an extra egg or yolk to achieve a workable dough.
Dust a cloth with flour.
Roll the dough in the floured cloth.
Place the dough in a pan.
Let the dough rise in a cool place in summer or a warm place in winter, preferably overnight.
Shape and bake
Knead the dough again and shape it into uniform balls.
Press your thumb into the top of each ball to create a hollow.
Place a smaller ball inside each hollow.
Brush the tops with egg yolk and glaze completely.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes or until golden.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together.
- Unsalted butter
- Adds fat for a tender, rich crumb and softness.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add richness, structure and moisture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs and judging the dough. Eggs must be added gradually so the emulsion of butter and egg stays smooth rather than breaking. The dough should be workable before rising; an extra egg or yolk is only added when needed, since too much liquid makes it sticky and hard to shape.
“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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