Irish Soda Bread

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and sugar. Add butter and cut in until crumbly. Stir in the currants. Combine egg and buttermilk and add to dry ingredients. Stir until blended. Turn the dough out onto a wooden board sprinkled with flour. Knead the dough for a minute, no longer. If the dough is a little sticky, dust with some extra flour. Take care not to overwork the dough or add too much extra flour, or the bread will be tough. Divide dough in half and shape each into a round loaf. Place each loaf into an 8-inch round cake pan. Cut a cross on top of each loaf, about 1/2-inch deep. Then brush each with milk and sprinkle sugar on the top. Bake 35-40 minutes until golden. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack. Slice to serve.