Ingredients
Scale
- 3 2 ?3 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp superfine sugar
- 2 ?3 cup golden raisins or dried currants
- 1 egg
- 1 2 ?3 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F
- Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
- Stir in the sugar and dried fruit.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in most of the buttermilk mixture (leave about a quarter cup to mix in as you go along)
- Using one hand, bring the flour and liquid together moving your hand in circles around the bowl, adding a little more of the buttermilk mixture, if necessary.
- Don’t knead the mixture or it will become too heavy. (The dough should be soft, but not too wet and sticky.)
- Once it comes together, turn onto a floured work surface and bring together a little more.
- Pat the dough into a round, about 2½ inches in height, and cut a deep cross in it, from one side of the loaf to the other.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 400°F and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Handle the dough as if it were flaming hot. The less handled the better your results will be.
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: Irish