Guatemalan Challah

From "A Blessing of Bread" by Maggie Glezer, this is another interesting twist on challah! Challah is the braided or twisted loaf of egg bread served on the Sabbath by Jews around the world, and recipes vary by region. This one is interesting for its use of cardamom. I've added the rising time in to the cooking time, so the total time is from start to finish.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 16-24

Ingredients

• 3 3⁄4 cups bread flour
• 3⁄4 cup warm water
• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons  one envelope instant yeast (rapid-rise)
• 3  large eggs (one is for glazing)
• 1⁄2 cup  vegetable oil
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1  cup raisins
•  poppy seeds (optional) or  sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 3/4 cup of the flour, then whisk in the warm water until smooth. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.
2. Whisk 2 eggs, oil, salt, sugar and cardamom into the puffed yeast slurry until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt and sugar are dissolved.
3. Stir in the remaining flour all at once. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until smooth and soft, no more than 10 minutes. Knead in the raisins just until they are equally distributed.
4. Place the dough in the bowl and cover, set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, up to 2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
5. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two 1-pound portions for loaves, or 16 rolls.
6. Braid or shape as desired, position on the prepared sheets and cover again to rise until tripled in size, up to 1 1/2 hours.
7. Thirty minutes before baking, put oven racks in upper and lower third positions and preheat to 350°F.
8. Beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt for glazing the bread.
9. When the loaves have tripled in size and stay indented when gently pressed with a fingertip, brush with the egg glaze. If desired, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
10. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, loaves for 25-35 minutes, until well-browned. You may tent them with foil if they are browning too quickly.
11. Remove from oven to cool on racks.
12. Freezes well.