Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Franklin Flour Oems
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the sour cream, sugar, sour milk, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add Franklin flour until the batter can be dropped from a spoon.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto a baking sheet.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and richness, and its acidity helps tenderize the crumb.
- Sour milk
- Provides liquid and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour cream and sour milk to produce gas that lifts the bread.
- Franklin flour
- Forms the structure of the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown.
The step that matters
Gradually add Franklin flour until the batter can be dropped from a spoon. Adding flour gradually lets you judge the batter's consistency. Too much flour makes the bread dense and dry, while too little leaves it runny and unable to hold its shape when dropped.
“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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