Why it works: Flour and milk 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 ↓
Graham Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare and mix
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and then reduce to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, mix graham flour, cream, sour milk, salt, molasses, and baking soda.
Pour the mixture into a 9x4x3 inch loaf pan.
Bake
Bake for at least one hour until cooked through.
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 + 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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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + molassestop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,408 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk and the hearty, coarse structure of the loaf.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that makes the bread rise.
- Dark molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep brown colour to the crumb.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, softening the crumb and tenderising the texture.
The step that matters
Bake until cooked through. Quick breads made with baking soda rise fast and set from the outside in, so an underbaked centre can stay gummy. Baking for the full time ensures the interior sets before the loaf is removed.
“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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