3/4teaspoonfine sea salt, reduce to 1/2 tsp if using salted butter
5Tablespoonsbutter, cold, cut into 10 pieces
1 1/2cupsbuttermilk, or milk, plus more for brushing *See Note 1
1/3cupmixed seeds, sunflower, flax, sesame, poppy seed etc.
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 6 1/2-inch bottom diameter cast iron skillet (or 7-8 inch round baking pan) and set aside.
Prepare the seed mixture and set aside (I used 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp flaxseed and 1 Tbsp poppy seeds)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter pieces to the bowl and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add enough buttermilk to the flour mixture to form a soft, sticky dough (I usually use all of the 1 1/2 cups). Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead gently a few times, just until smooth. Shape dough into a 7-inch-ish round.
Sprinkle some of the seed mixture onto the bottom of a greased skillet or baking pan. Place dough on top of seeds. Brush top of dough with more buttermilk, then scatter remaining seeds over the top and sides of dough. Dip a knife in flour, then cut an shallow X into the top of the dough.
Bake bread in preheated oven for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until well browned. *Check loaf at around 30 minutes and loosely cover the top with a piece of foil if it looks at risk of over-browning. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. (Bread sliced better when cooled).
Notes
1. You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 1/2 Tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 1/2 cups of regular milk. Stir and let stand 10 minutes before using.Nutritional information does not include seed topping.