Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spray heavy baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk both flours, sugar, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and cut in until the butter is reduced to pea-size pieces. TIP: Grating the butter makes this task must easier.

Add buttermilk; stir until shaggy dough forms.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together, about 10 turns.

Shape dough into 9-inch round (the round should be about 1 inch high). Place dough on prepared baking sheet. Cut large X, 1/2 inch deep, in top of dough, almost all the way to the edges of the round.

Bake bread in center of oven until deep brown and bottom sounds hollow when firmly tapped (a bamboo skewer inserted into the center of the bread should emerge clean without any stickiness or moistness), about 55-60 minutes. Transfer bread to rack and cool completely.

NOTES: I used my food processor to blend the ingredients, then turned it out onto a floured surface to knead. It takes some elbow grease to work the dough, but it does comes together.

Be sure to bake the bread to a dark golden color. The ends might turn out to be baked, but the center can be a little raw in the middle. The first time, this happened to me but I simply returned it to the oven and it was fine.

* Nutritional Information One slice contains the following: Calories (kcal) 286.3 %Calories from Fat 14.4 Fat (g) 4.6 Saturated Fat (g) 0.8 Cholesterol (mg) 1.6 Carbohydrates (g) 54.8 Dietary Fiber (g) 4.2 Total Sugars (g) 12.0 Net Carbs (g) 50.6 Protein (g) 8.5

RECIPE UPDATE FROM BON APETIT:
TEST KITCHEN NOTE: Based on feedback from readers, we retested this three times and made adjustments to the original recipe that was printed in the magazine. Above is the version of the recipe that works best. We increased the baking soda to 2 teaspoons (instead of 1 teaspoon); shaped the dough to a 9-inch round (instead of a 7-inch round); increased baking time to 55 to 60 minutes (instead of 40 minutes); and clarified certain instructions on doneness. In one testing, we tried adding 1 teaspoon of salt and found that it detracted from the sweetness of the bread. Thank you to our readers for your feedback.