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 (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Mix the batter
In a bowl, mix sour milk, baking soda, molasses, and boiling water.
Stir in melted lard, rye meal, cornmeal, and salt until combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased steaming dish.
Steam and finish
Steam for four hours.
After steaming, set in a preheated oven at 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.
-
Milk + ryetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
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 to produce gas, lightening the bread.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce carbon dioxide for rising.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture, and its acidity helps the soda react.
- Rye meal
- Provides flavour and structure, though it has less gluten to hold the crumb together.
- Cornmeal (indian meal)
- Gives the bread a coarse, tender texture and body.
- Melted lard
- Adds fat, which tenderizes the crumb and carries flavour.
The step that matters
Pour the batter after the soda has been mixed in. Baking soda starts reacting with the acidic sour milk and molasses as soon as it is combined. Delaying the pour or letting the batter stand too long lets much of the gas escape before steaming sets the crumb, which can leave 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.
More brown bread recipes
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.