Irish Soda Bread

My husband was born in Dublin. I like to say I imported him to the US.

Well, after a number of years here (I won't say exactly, but I will note that our oldest kid is now in college), he's traded in his Green Card for an American passport (hint to those of you guessing how long ago we married: sad to say, that movie was current enough to spawn some jokes during our courtship.) 

To celebrate his last night of non-American-ness, I cooked an Irish feast of sorts: Guinness stew, potato mash, soda bread. It was pretty tasty! But the star, of course, was the soda bread. Here's my recipe:

IRISH SODA BREAD

2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats & a bit more to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
(optional: 1 cup raisins or currants, rinsed in hot water & patted dry)
2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten lightly

Into a large bowl, sift together 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the whole-wheat flour and 1 cup oats, plus caraway seeds and raisins. Add the buttermilk and egg and stir the mixture until it forms a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, adding in as much of the remaining 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour as necessary to form a manageable but sticky dough.
Halve the dough, form the halves into round loaves, and put them on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the loaves lightly with additional oats, dust them with flour, and bake in the middle of a preheated 350° oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. 
Cool on a rack before eating. I mean it! Cool first, then eat! (Add Irish butter, lashing of jam, smoked salmon, or other toppings as desired.)