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Bread

Graham Bread

A simple bread made with graham flour, cornmeal, molasses, and a sponge starter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Graham Bread

Oven, in the book's wordsA steady oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a steady oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare and mix

  1. In a large bowl, combine the sponge, graham flour, cornmeal, and salt.

  2. Wet and mix the ingredients until combined.

  3. Add the molasses and mix well.

Knead and rise

  1. Knead the dough until very soft.

  2. Set the dough aside to rise until doubled in size.

Bake

  1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).

  2. Bake the bread for about 2 hours.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,429 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sponge
A fermented starter that makes the dough rise and adds a tangy, developed flavor.
Graham flour
Coarse whole-wheat flour that gives the loaf a sturdy, hearty structure and nutty flavor.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture, and a darker color and flavor to the crumb and crust.

The step that matters

Let the dough rise until doubled. The sponge needs time to leaven the heavy graham flour. Rising too little leaves a dense loaf, so wait for the full doubling before baking.

“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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