Why it works: Milk and rye work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 918 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Brown Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine sour milk, baking soda, molasses, boiling water, melted lard, rye, cornmeal, and salt.
Mix until the batter is slightly thicker than pancake batter.
Steam and finish
Pour the mixture into a greased steamer and steam for four hours.
After steaming, place in a preheated moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for ten 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 + ryetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the bread rises.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lightens the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the bread.
- Rye
- Provides flavour and structure, with the cornmeal forming the bulk of the crumb.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the bread its coarse, crumbly texture and body.
The step that matters
Mix until slightly thicker than pancake batter. The batter's consistency sets how the bread rises and holds together. Too thin and it may turn out dense or gummy; too thick and it may not steam through evenly.
“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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