RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: Quick yeast-free raisin bread

When you need raisin toast right now, this is the recipe.

Yes, I said need. That tantalising smell of spices wafting from the toaster. Those warm raisins that burst in your mouth. The lashings of butter that soak into the bread, lightly golden on the outside, soft on the inside.

How can popping a piece of plain old boring white bread into the toaster possibly compare? (Answer: it can't.)

So when you've got no time, or yeast, this easy raisin bread is the answer to your cravings. It's a quick bread recipe which, true to its name, is quick to make. No stand mixer, no kneading, no proving. Just mix it up with a wooden spoon, pop it in the oven and out comes your raisin toast fix.

Quick no-yeast raisin bread

This is how you get your raisin toast fix when you've got no yeast, no time and no desire to knead. The smell of this in the oven will drive your neighbours crazy – it did mine!

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups plain flour (see note)
• 5 tsp baking powder (see note)
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 1½ tsp mixed spice
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1⅓ cups sour cream (or yoghurt)
• 2 cups dried fruit* (I use Sunbeam Mixed Fruit)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan-forced). Grease a 22cm x 13cm loaf tin with butter then line with baking paper, allowing some overhang to help lift it out.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, mixed spice and salt in a bowl, and make a well in the middle.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and sour cream until well combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the flour mixture, then use a wooden spoon to mix until the flour is incorporated. The batter will be thick and a bit lumpy – that's completely OK.
5. Stir in the dried fruit. Scrape into the tin and smooth the surface.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil.
7. Turn oven down to 200C (180C fan-forced) then bake for a further 20-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Use excess paper to lift the bread out of the tin. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before cutting into thick slices to serve – slathering with butter is not optional!

Makes 10-12 slices

Notes

• This bread keeps for up to six days, but after three days is best eaten toasted. Toast under the grill rather than in a toaster.
• Feel free to use any dried fruits you like or have. My favourite raisin bread is made with mixed dried fruit* (rather than only raisins) and mixed spice (rather than cinnamon, all spice or other options one might consider).
• This batter is my master mix for sweet quick breads. Use it as a base for any add-ins and flavourings such as fruit and nut, blueberries, raspberries or apple pieces. Switch mixed spice for cinnamon or all spice, or use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
• Flour and baking powder can be substituted with 2½ cups of self-raising flour.

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