Irish Soda Bread

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven

   Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 400°F (204°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, or set out a 10-inch cast iron skillet. The skillet gives you a darker, crisper bottom crust; the sheet pan gives you a slightly wider, flatter loaf. Either works.

2. 2

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and caraway seeds (if using) for a good twenty seconds. You want the baking soda evenly dispersed — any clumps left behind will taste soapy and leave yellow streaks in the baked loaf.

3. 3

   Cut in the butter

   Add the cold cubed butter and work it into the flour with your fingertips, a pastry cutter, or two forks until the pieces are the size of small peas. There's a lot of flour and not much butter here, so it will look dry and sandy rather than clumpy — that's exactly right. Stir in the raisins so they get coated in flour and stay suspended in the dough.

4. 4

   Add the liquid

   Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in a measuring cup, then pour them into the bowl all at once. Stir with a sturdy spoon or flexible spatula just until the flour is mostly moistened and the dough is too stiff to stir easily. It will look shaggy and uneven. Stop there — the longer you work it, the tougher the loaf.

5. 5

   Bring it together

   Turn the dough and any loose crumbs onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently, about eight to ten folds, just until it holds together in a rough ball. The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky. Add flour only a tablespoon at a time if it's sticking badly to your hands — a wetter dough bakes into a moister loaf, so resist the urge to dry it out.

6. 6

   Shape and score

   Pat the dough into a round about 7 inches across and 2 inches tall, and set it on the parchment or in the skillet. With a sharp serrated knife, cut a cross into the top, going a full 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep and all the way across the loaf. That deep cut lets the dense center cook through before the crust overbrowns. Brush the top with the tablespoon of buttermilk.

7. 7

   Bake

   Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock the bottom. An instant-read thermometer in the center should register 195 to 200°F (90 to 93°C). If the top is darkening fast at the 30-minute mark, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it and keep going.

8. 8

   Cool before slicing

   Move the loaf to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 30 minutes, ideally an hour. The crumb is still setting as it cools, and cutting into it hot will give you a gummy slice. Cut into wedges or slice across the loaf.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Buttermilk isn't optional in the way it looks — its acid is what reacts with the baking soda to lift the loaf. If you're out, stir 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into enough whole milk to reach 1 1/2 cups and let it sit for 10 minutes until it thickens slightly.

• 2.

  Check the date on your baking soda. It's the only leavener in this bread, and a tired box means a squat, heavy loaf.

• 3.

  Work fast once the buttermilk goes in. The rise starts the moment the acid meets the soda, and a dough that sits on the counter for twenty minutes before baking will have spent most of its lift.

• 4.

  Scoring shallowly is the most common mistake. Cut deep enough that the cross stays open as it bakes — you should be able to see the cut widen within the first ten minutes in the oven.

• 5.

  Swap the raisins for dried currants, chopped dried apricots, or leave them out entirely for a plainer, more savory loaf that's excellent with soup.

• 6.

  This is a same-day bread by nature. Day-two slices are much better toasted and buttered than eaten plain.

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Pastry cutter or two forks
• Flexible spatula or wooden spoon
• Rimmed baking sheet with parchment, or 10-inch cast iron skillet
• Sharp serrated knife
• Instant-read thermometer
• Wire cooling rack

Storage