Why it works: Rye and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the Indian meal, rye meal, Graham flour, and molasses.
Add warm milk gradually to create a soft batter.
Dissolve the yeast cake in warm water and stir it into the mixture.
Add the salt and mix well.
Cover the bowl and let the mixture rise overnight.
Steam and serve
In the morning, stir the batter briskly and pour it into a pan or steamer.
Let it rise again before steaming.
Steam for 3 to 4 hours.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Indian meal
- Provides the bulk and coarse structure of the loaf.
- Rye meal
- Adds earthy flavour and a denser, moist crumb.
- Graham flour
- Contributes gluten and a nutty, wholesome texture.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture.
- Yeast cake
- Ferments the batter so it rises and becomes lighter.
The step that matters
Letting the batter rise before steaming. The yeast needs time to produce gas that lightens the dense cornmeal and rye batter. Under-proofed batter steams into a heavy, gummy loaf, so the second rise should be allowed to complete.
“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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