Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Bread with Yeast
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a basin, mix 3 lb of flour with the salt and make a well in the center.
Combine the yeast and sugar, then work with a spoon to form a smooth paste.
Gradually add the tepid water to the yeast mixture to prevent lumps.
Pour the yeast mixture into the well.
Gradually work in the flour to form a light dough.
Knead the dough with your hands until smooth.
Cover the basin with a cloth.
Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.
Shape and prove
Turn the dough onto a floured board.
Knead in enough flour until it no longer sticks to your fingers or the board.
Divide the dough into two or three pieces.
Knead tightly.
Place in floured or greased tins.
Let the dough rise again for about 1 hour in a warm place.
Bake
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
Reduce the temperature and bake more slowly for 1 to 2 hours, depending on size.
Do not open the oven door for about 10 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.
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the bread its structure and chew.
- Compressed yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide that makes the dough rise and become airy.
- Tepid water
- Hydrates the flour and activates the yeast while forming the dough.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast so it ferments and rises more vigorously.
- Salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens the dough's flavor and texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the tepid water to the yeast mixture to prevent lumps.. Adding liquid slowly lets the yeast and flour hydrate evenly, so the paste stays smooth and the dough forms without dry or clumped pockets.
“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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