Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
White Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Dissolve yeast, salt, and sugar in lukewarm milk and water.
Add flour gradually to form a kneadable dough.
Knead well and place in a greased bowl.
Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
Knead again and return to the bowl for another hour of rising.
Shape and bake
Form into loaves, filling pans halfway, and let stand for 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 40 to 50 minutes.
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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the dough rise and gives the bread its airy crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and chew.
- Milk and water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can form and adds moisture to the dough.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds a little sweetness and browning in the crust.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and softens the texture.
The step that matters
Knead again and return to the bowl for another hour of rising. The second rise lets the yeast build gas and relax the gluten after shaping, which gives a lighter loaf. Rising too briefly leaves the bread 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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