St. Pat's Irish Soda Bread

Here's a friend's recipe for Irish soda bread:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set
aside.

Combine buttermilk, melted butter and raisins; add to
flour mixture, stirring until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Kneed
until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place on
a greased baking sheet.

Press dough evenly into a 1 1/2-inch-thick circle.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until bread sounds
hollow when tapped. Remove to a wire rack; cool 5
minutes. Cut into wedges.

Note: I prefer to combine the buttermilk,
melted butter and raisins in a bowl first and let them
sit for a few minutes while I prepare the dry
ingredients. This gives the raisins a chance to
absorb some of the buttermilk and "plump".

I also sprinkle the top of the bread dough with a
small amount of flour before placing the dough in the
oven. This seems to keep the top crust from getting a
bit too overdone, and looks pretty besides!