Traditional Irish Soda Bread

• 3 ½ cups flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar, optional
• 1 ¾ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder until they are well blended. Make a well in the center, pour the buttermilk into the well, and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured counter, flour your hands, and use fingertips to gently gather the dough together to form a round loaf. Pat the loaf with hands to 1 ½-inch thickness. Transfer it to a cookie sheet sprinkled with flour. Do not grease.

Cut a cross in the top of the bread with a sharp knife and separate the four sections slightly with the knife to ensure the bread bakes in the center. Prick each section once with the tip of the knife “to let the fairies out”.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the bread is golden brown and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Set is aside on a wire rack to cool.

Yield: 1 loaf

Chef’s Note: If a slightly sweeter bread is desired, stir 2 tablespoons sugar into the flour mixture before adding the buttermilk.