Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour until only small, flour covered bits remain.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

In another bowl (or I just use the liquid measuring cup) mix together the buttermilk and the egg. Mix with a wooden spoon until almost all of the flour is incorporated. Dump the dough (and any remaining flour) onto a counter and knead a few times to incorporate all of the flour. If the dough is too sticky and is sticking to the counter, you can add more flour, but you shouldn’t need to.

Transfer the dough to a 10” cast iron skillet. Use a serrated knife to score an X shape across the top of the dough.

In a small bowl, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the buttermilk. Brush about 1/4 of this mixture over the top of the bread.

Place the skillet into the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes.

When the timer goes off, baste the bread with 1/3 of the remaining butter mixture, then sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the sugar. Return to the oven and set the timer for 10 more minutes.

When the timer goes off, repeat the above steps with the buttermilk mixture and the sugar, using 1/2 of the remaining ingredients. If needed, you may need to pop the buttermilk mixture in the microwave for a few seconds to make it liquid again. Set the timer for 10 more minutes.

When the timer goes off, repeat the above steps one last time, using the rest of the buttermilk mixture and the rest of the sugar.

Return the bread to the oven and allow it to bake until the top is golden brown, another 10-15 minutes, for a total bake time of about 45-50 minutes.

Allow the bread to cool for a bit before slicing and serving.