Swedish Cardamom Bread

A sweet bread traditionally served in Sweden or Finland; often served as buns, loaves, or in a bundt shape. Often topped with a white icing and walnuts, this is usually served with coffee. I came across this recipe (source, epicurean.com) while looking for instructions for how to braid or plait braid, which, incidentally, is also done with this bread, and instructions on how to do this can be found here, among other places: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3715220/kneading_and_braiding_the_challah_dough/ Note that the prep time does not include the passive rising time of approximately 2 hours.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 16
• Yields: 2 Loaves

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1⁄4 cup water, lukewarm
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄4 cup honey
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  cup milk, scalded
• 6 -6 1⁄2 cups bread flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups butter or 1 1⁄2 cups margarine, softened
• 2  eggs, lightly beaten
• 2  teaspoons cardamom, ground
• 2⁄3 cup golden raisin
• 1  egg white, beaten
• 1  tablespoon water

Directions

1. Grease a large bowl; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water with sugar; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir honey, sugar, and salt into scalded milk; cool to lukewarm. Add milk mixture and 2 cups flour to dissolved yeast; beat until smooth. Add butter, eggs, cardamom, and raisins, beating until thoroughly blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a well floured board; knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in prepared bowl; grease top lightly. Cover; let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick vegetable spray.
4. Punch dough down; knead briefly. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces; roll each piece into a 14-inch rope. Place 3 ropes side-by-side and braid, pinching ends together to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 ropes. Grease tops lightly. Cover; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Combine egg white and water, whisk. Brush tops of loaves with mixture. Bake 35 to 50 minutes or until loaves are a deep golden brown and tester inserted in center comes out clean. Carefully remove from baking sheet; cool completely on a wire rack.