Manx Bonnag

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Either flour a baking tray or line a round skillet with baking parchment. Keep the flour out as you’ll be sprinkling some on top of your loaf (with a flourish) before it goes in the oven. Measure out your ingredients. 

Cut the cold butter into cubes into a large mixing bowl. Then sift in the flour and use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add the rest of the dry ingredients - the sugar, salt, bicarbonate of soda, raisins - and mix well.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Now, get stuck in with your hands and work quickly to bring the ingredients together into a sticky dough. Dough can get into the crevices of rings so you may want to take them off beforehand. 

Pick the dough up and transfer it to the baking tray you floured earlier and shape it into a round loaf with your hands. If you’re cooking it in a skillet, push the dough into the pan edges and dome the top. Use a sharp knife to cut a cross on top and sprinkle over some flour.

Bake for 30 minutes until the bread is golden and it makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. 

Always leave it to cool down completely before slicing for the best fluffy texture.