The best Irish soda bread

Ingredients:

• 3.5 cups premium flour + extra for working with the dough
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 55g chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 2/3 cup black raisins
• 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
• 1 and 1/4 cups of sour milk or kefir
• 1 large egg
• Irish butter, for serving

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Line a 20cm round loaf pan with a large sheet of parchment paper, pressing it against the sides of the pan and leaving an overhang on both sides to make it easier to remove the bread from the pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and mix. Then, using a pastry blender or your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse grains. Add the raisins and caraway seeds.
3. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the sour milk and egg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the sour milk into the well. Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the dough begins to form a rough mass.
4. Lightly flour a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead it a few times to form a ball. Form the dough into a disk. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and, using a sharp knife, make a 1-cm-deep slit across the surface. Bake until the top of the bread is puffed and lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean, 60-75 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and pull the parchment tabs to lift the loaf out of the pan. Transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with quality Irish butter.