Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or you can use all-purpose flour for all 4 cups)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) of cold butter
1 cup raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly greased cast iron skillet (you can also use a stoneware pie dish, or a baking sheet)and set aside.
2) In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour(s) sugar, salt, and baking soda. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. The recipe I used says to work the butter in “until it resembles a coarse meal.” There butter to flour ratio doesn’t really allow you to get the “coarse meal” texture if you ask me, so just work the butter in until no large pieces are left. A pastry blender is the easy way to work the butter in, but you can also use 2 knives (just table knives, not your good steak knives!), or a large processor.
3) Once the butter is mixed in, create a shallow hole in the center and add the egg and the buttermilk. Using a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula (or any other large utensil that you prefer) mix until the dough is sticking together and most of the flour is incorporated (it can be tough to get it all mixed in with the spoon). To finish the dough, dust your hands with flour and use your hands to incorporate any flour still left in the bottom of the bowl, then form the dough into a ball.
4) Transfer dough to the skillet (or whatever you are using to bake in/on). Use a sharp serrated knife to score an X into the top if the bread (about 1/2 inch deep).
5) Put bread in the oven and bake about 40 minutes until the crust is browned, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a knife. If you are not sure if the bread is done use an instant read thermometer to check that the temperature is close to 200 degrees (200 degrees is optimal, but if the crust all ready looking a little too toasted, pulling it out at 190 degrees to avoid burning is fine). Allow bread to cool for about 20 minutes before toasting.