Will sour cream break in the oven?

[cyalexa]

I'm trying to use up some leftovers including a generous cup of thick bechamel, sour cream, fresh pasta sheets, bacon, swiss cheese, broccoli, and cooked chicken breasts. I'm thinking of a chicken divan-like lasagna with bacon instead of ham. My tentative plan is to make a MC cheese sauce with chicken broth and swiss cheese, and mix in the chicken, bacon and broccoli. I will layer this mixture between the pasta sheets. I am trying to decide if I can combine the bechamel, sour cream, and swiss cheese for a topping but am afraid the sour cream might curdle in the oven. I don't like the way MC cheese sauce browns so don't want to use it in the top layer. I guess I could just thin the bechamel with a little chicken broth but I am trying to put the sour cream to good use. 

[MSRadell]

I've tried using just plain sour cream on top of something I baked and it separated although not severely.  I'm not sure what would happen if it was mixed in with mother ingredients like you are planning but I'm betting it would be okay.  Of course I have no experience trying it but....  If nothing else you could always just top the casserole with the sour cream after you removed it from the oven to be safe.

[Anna N]

In my experience full-fat sour cream will not break provided you do not reach boiling temperatures.

[nickrey]

If it is soured by a souring agent, yes it will split. If it is a natural creme fraiche made with bacteria, no.

[cyalexa]

Thanks to those who contributed. I decided to leave the sour cream out. The dish was good enough to warrant hauling out the KA to make pasta sheets to make it again. 

[Smithy]

Did the cheese sauce keep the cooked chicken breast from drying out? How long did you bake this? It sounds good...and it also sounds like a dish you intended to make from leftovers is set to be something you make from scratch. I hope you're better at duplicating results after successful experiments than I am. :-D

[tim]

Heavy manufacturer's cream (no additives) or heavy natural creme fraiche will not break.  It can even be oven cooked to a very thick consistancy without breaking.

 

Bechemal with cream added would also not break.

[cyalexa]

Did the cheese sauce keep the cooked chicken breast from drying out? How long did you bake this? It sounds good...and it also sounds like a dish you intended to make from leftovers is set to be something you make from scratch. I hope you're better at duplicating results after successful experiments than I am. :-D

The chicken was already cooked and I was worried about cooking it further so I just baked the composed dish until it was bubbling hot, about 25 min at 325F. I didn't take notes so will save them here. I used a  glass pan, 8x11 I think (it's in the dishwasher so can't measure it, but it stacks inside the 9x13), sprayed with no-stick spray. Pasta made with one large egg and the amount of flour needed to make a proper pasta dough, rolled to # 6 on the KA will be just enough for 2 layers of filling (ie. 3 layers of pasta and yes, I boiled it briefly before use). I will use 2 eggs worth of pasta if I go up to a 9x13. Two chicken breasts was barely enough, could have used 3. I used about 2 cups cooked chopped broccoli. Each layer had about 2.5-3 strips of crumbled bacon. The cheese sauce was made with 265g chicken broth, 11g sodium citrate, and 285g grated swiss cheese. I barely had enough for the 2 layers and it seemed too thick, even though it was still warm. I think it loosened up during baking and ended up being about right. Over the top layer of pasta I spread about 1.5 cup of bechamel and covered it with about 1.5 cup of grated swiss.

 

After roasting a chicken I always have both breasts left as we eat the dark meat and wings at dinner. I will probably try this "Chicken Divan Lasagna"  in an 8x8 with all bechamel after our next chicken dinner. One less pan and I don't like the way MC cheese sauce browns so wouldn't want it on top. 

Edited July 21, 2014 by cyalexa (log)