Why it works: Rye and corn work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 182 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Brown Bread
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.
Prepare the batter
In a bowl, mix the rye meal, corn meal, molasses, baking powder, salt, and raisins if desired.
Add cold water gradually to create a thin batter.
Steam
Pour the batter into a pound coffee can.
Cover the can tightly and place it in a larger pot filled with water.
Steam in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for three to four 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 + corntop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together182 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rye + raisintop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Corn + raisintop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together180 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Rye + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 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
- Rye meal
- Gives the bread its dense, hearty structure and earthy flavor.
- Corn meal
- Adds coarse body and a grainy texture to the crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that lifts the batter as it heats.
The step that matters
Covering the can and steaming in a water bath. A tightly covered can in water traps steam around the batter, keeping it moist and letting it cook gently and evenly. A loose cover or a pot that boils dry lets the surface dry out and the loaf cook unevenly.
Swap the raisin
The recipe marks raisin as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rye, corn, molasses):
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Cherryfits about as well
- Vanillafits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against rye, corn, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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