Irish Soda Bread

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• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, warmed slightly

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. You’ll probably have the paper wrapper off a stick of butter – use that to put a thin layer of butter on the baking sheet. If not, just use a little bit of oil or butter on a paper towel.
2. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a mixer, whisk together the first five ingredients. Stir in 1 cup of the buttermilk and the egg. You may need to quickly pinch the butter into the dough with your fingers. It can be very rough.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. DO not over knead the dough.
4. Form dough into a round and place on the baking sheet. In a small bowl or a measuring cup place the ¼ cup buttermilk and ¼ cup butter. Microwave just until the butter is melted and the buttermilk is warm.*
5. Brush loaf with the buttermilk mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf. Make sure the x is nice and deep - you want to go almost halfway through the loaf. That will allow the bread to rise as it should.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Every fifteen minutes or so, brush the top with more of the butter/buttermilk mixture, until it's done or you run out of buttermilk, whichever comes first.
7. You can either run a toothpick or skewer into it - to see if it comes out clean, or you can tap it. It won't sound as 'thumpy' as traditional French or Italian loaves, but it will 'feel' hollow when done.

*The first time I made this I simply put the melted butter into the buttermilk, which is what the original recipe instructed. The cold buttermilk immediately solidified the butter and I had a gloppy mess. I used it anyway, which I shouldn’t have. The mixture wasn’t smooth going on top of the bread, and the crust didn’t brown evenly. In addition, it glued the x I cut into the loaf back together, so it wasn’t nearly as pretty as it should have been. Tasted great though. The kids and I ate it standing at the kitchen counter. Never even made it to the rack to cool.