Quick and Easy Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Combine 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
3. Work the butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Add raisins.
4. Make a well in the center of the dough and add the beaten egg and buttermilk to it. Mix the dough with a wooden spoon until the dough becomes too stiff to stir.
5. Dust your hands in flour and knead the dough until it's just formed into a ball. The dough should still be a little loose. Don't overknead past this point. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
6. Transfer your dough to a lightly greased pan or cast iron skillet. The dough will flatten a little; this is expected. You can score an X into the dough (as if you were cutting the dough into 4 sectios) with a serrated knife to help heat cook the inside and outside of the bread evenly.
7. Pop it into the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and fully cooked. You can check on its done-ness by inserting a skewer into the center of the bread and seeing if it comes out cleanly. (If the top of your bread is browning too quickly, wrap a little aluminum foil over the top.
8. Serve and enjoy!