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Omelette Au Pain

A French omelette made with bread crumbs and milk, folded and baked briefly.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Omelette Au Pain

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the egg mixture

  1. Separate the egg whites and yolks.

  2. In a bowl, mix the yolks with milk, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs.

  3. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the yolk mixture.

Cook and serve

  1. Melt the butter in a smooth frying pan over medium heat.

  2. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and loosen the edges with a knife after a minute.

  3. When slightly firm, place the pan in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 1 minute to set the center.

  4. Fold the omelet in half or thirds and serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Whipped whites give the omelette lift and a light, airy structure, while yolks add richness and set into a tender body.
Bread crumbs
Absorb the milk and yolk mixture, adding body and a softer, more tender texture to the omelette.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the egg mixture tender as it sets.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and helps the omelette brown lightly and release from the pan.

The step that matters

Folding the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture. Overmixing or deflating the whites removes the air that gives the omelette its lift, so fold gently in portions until just combined.

“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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