Soda Bread
INGREDIENTS:
= 4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
= ½ cup sugar
= 1½ tea-spoon salt
= 3 tea-spoon Baking Powder
= 1 tea-spoon Baking Soda
= 2 tea-spoon Caraway Seeds
= 1 cup black raisins
= 1½ cup buttermilk
= 4 table-spoon unsalted butter, keep in the freezer
COOKING:
Preheat oven to 190℃ (375℉).
1. Sprinkle raisins with flour and stir well to make sure the raisins are well-covered with flour. It will help them to spread evenly throughout the bread and not sink down to the bottom while baking. Sift away the excess flour.
2. Wisk well together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix well together grated butter with flour mixture. Make sure there is no large lumps.
4. Stir into flour mixture the flour covered raisins and caraway seeds. Mix well with your hands or with a fork.
5. Add buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir together with a silicon or wooden spoon until the mixture is moistened throughout.
6. Put your dough on a well-floured surface and kneed it lightly for about 3-5 minutes, just until combined and holds a ball shape – it should be sticky.
7. Place your dough ball on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Flatten the dough ball and make deep cuts (about ¼ in deep) in the “X” form into the top.
8. Place your cookie sheet with the dough ball in the middle of the preheated oven.
Bake it for 1 hour. A wooden toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Cool your bread completely on a wire rack.
Your bread is ready to serve.