Quick bread
- Carbohydrate 941.4604 g
- Cholesterol 579.8 mg
- Fat 81.54216 g
- Fiber 30.0329003686309 g
- Protein 109.08613 g
- Saturated Fat 43.17418 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1651g)
- Sodium 1851.679 mg
- Sugar 911.427499631369 g
- Trans Fat 8.221582 g
- Calories 4831 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl beat eggs and stir in sour cream.
- Add the egg and sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.
- Batter will be very thick.
- Add the raisins and caraway seeds and stir well with wooden spoon or knead in with your hands.
- Place batter in a greased 9 inch springform pan.
- Dust the top with enough flour so that you can pat the batter like a bread dough evenly in the pan without it sticking to your hands.
- With a knife make a shallow crisscross on the top.
- Bake for 50 minutes in a preheated 350F oven.
Scoring the top of the unbaked loaf with a knife is the critical moment determining whether the dense crumb expands evenly in the oven. Traditional soda bread relies on a chemical reaction between baking soda and the acidic components in sour cream rather than yeast fermentation, producing carbon dioxide that must escape cleanly through the slashed crust. Making a shallow crisscross pattern on the surface prevents random cracking along the sides and ensures the interior cooks uniformly throughout the 50-minute baking time at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chemical leavened breads have a long history in rural Ireland, emerging out of necessity when households lacked access to commercial bakeries and relied on domestic soft-wheat flour, buttermilk, and alkaline soda. Unlike heavy yeast loaves, these quick breads require minimal handling to preserve the tender texture inside the 9-inch springform pan. Overworking the flour activates excess gluten development, yielding a tough rather than crumbly interior. Stirring the wet and dry components just until combined maintains the desirable tender quality characteristic of authentic quick breads.
Caraway seeds and raisins are traditional additions that provide aromatic warmth and bursts of sweetness against the savory, tangy background of sour cream. While caraway seeds impart an earthy anise flavor, omitting them alters the traditional flavor profile entirely. Plump raisins absorb ambient moisture from the heavy batter during mixing, preventing them from burning on the exposed exterior crust.
Adapting this recipe requires careful attention to the fat and acid balance, since sour cream provides both moisture and the necessary acidity to activate the half teaspoon of baking soda. Substituting standard milk for sour cream removes the required acid, leaving the baking soda unreacted and yielding a metallic taste alongside a dense, unrisen crumb. Maintaining the exact ratio of dairy fat keeps the crumb soft for several days when stored in a cool pantry environment.
