Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Pastry Dough

Exquisite pastry dough flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

Pastry dough instantly conjures the embrace of butter and the bracing kiss of wheat, woven with delicate hints of starch, lactic acid, and caramel. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. And the culinary wizardry begins when we seek out pairings that allow these notes to truly sing, to harmonise in unexpected and delightful ways.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the herbal, warm thymol in oregano can awaken pastry dough, and how sage's rosmarinic notes forge a beautiful synergy with its grainy sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like maillard, nectarous, and acidic, combined with its unique aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim to include a broad variety of core characteristics for a balanced dish. And choose aroma notes that complement each other for a harmonious combination.

The Art of Flavour Pairing

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Wheat Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of wheat is strongly associated with the flavour of rosemary. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a rosemary flavour, such as sage, when pairing with the wheaty accents of pastry dough.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing pastry dough with sage.

Harmonious Flavours Of Pastry Dough

Just as our analysis shows that wheat and rosemary flavour notes combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in pastry dough. Similarly, the lactic acid accents of pastry dough frequently pair with cocoa and blackberry notes.

The accents complementary to the various aromas of pastry dough can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of oregano offers many of the aroma notes complementary to pastry dough, including thyme and rosemary notes. Because the flavour profile of oregano has many of the of the features that are complementary to pastry dough, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of oregano across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with pastry dough.

Recipes That Pair Pastry Dough With Oregano

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of pastry dough, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of pastry dough, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aroma notes complementary to pastry dough.

What To Drink With Pastry Dough

The rosemary notes in les baux de provence make it a perfect pairing with pastry dough. Likewise, the rosemary flavours in côtes du rhône create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of pastry dough below.

Which Fruit Go With Pastry Dough?

Choose fruit that cut through its creaminess or anchor its creamy tanginess. Blackberry and red fruit offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pomegranate add a gentle, oniony brightness, while blueberry introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with pastry dough's nuttiness. The addition of prune, with its subtle saccharine notes, can complement the hazelnut beautifully, while redcurrant lends a juicy aroma.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Pastry dough), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.