Irish Soda Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 c. buttermilk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425\u00b0. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour (your best tools for this job are your thumb and forefinger) until the butter lumps have disappeared. Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 8 or 10 times. The dough will be soft. (Sprinkle just a little additional flour, if necessary, to aid in handling the dough.) Form the dough into a ball and place on floured baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top of the loaf. Dust top of loaf lightly with flour. Bake at 425\u00b0 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375\u00b0 and bake an additional 25 minutes. Makes one large loaf approximately 9-inches in diameter.