Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Bran Gems
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the bran, Graham flour, brown sugar, and salt.
Make the batter
In another bowl, beat the egg and then add the buttermilk and melted butter.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in the baking soda.
Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins.
Bake
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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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
- Bran
- Adds fibre and body, giving the muffins a hearty, coarse texture.
- Graham flour
- Provides the main structure and a nutty, wholesome flavour.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps set the crumb as it bakes.
- Buttermilk or sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lift the muffins.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to produce gas, helping the muffins rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavour.
The step that matters
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in the baking soda. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets acid, so the batter should be mixed gently and baked promptly. Overmixing develops gluten and can make the muffins tough and dense.
“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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