Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar into a
large 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 a 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°F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F and
bake an additional 25 minutes. Makes one large loaf approximately 9 inches in
diameter.
Notes:
A sharp-eyed cook will have noticed that the dough for Irish soda bread is
similar to biscuit dough. As with biscuits, the less this dough is handled, the
better the bread will be. texascooking.com
