Ingredients

The following ingredients have 10 Servings
  • 4 cups all-purpose Flour
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 ½ cups Buttermilk plus a little extra for brushing on top
  • 1/3 cup unsalted Butter (melted)
  • 1 large Egg (lightly beaten)
  • 1 cup raisins (optional)

Instruction

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  • Mix together the buttermilk, melted butter and lightly beaten egg in another bowl.
  • Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir to form a soft dough. Add the raisins (if using) and mix lightly. You can use your hands for easier handling. Batter may be sticky.
  • Do not overmix. Shape into a ball.
  • Transfer the dough to a greased baking sheet, springform pan or to be more traditional, in a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet. Brush with extra buttermilk on top. You may also cut an X across the top, if you wish.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned on top and no longer looks shiny and doughy (toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean).
  • Let it cool in the pan or skillet for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. I read that you can also cover the bread with a dish towel while it’s cooling on a wire rack. This should help maintain the tenderness of the crust.
  • Enjoy warm-ish with some butter and jam!