Cardamom Bread

Back again, with two months of posts! I'm starting with this, because it was one of my favorites. Last Christmas our neighbors brought us a large loaf of cardamom bread, sprinkled with red and green sugar--it was beautiful, and we enjoyed it for days. We had never tried cardamom bread before that, but all of us loved it. I did a little researching and found out that it was fairly common to put cardamom in sweet breads in Scandinavian countries. When I found a recipe for "Swedish Coffee Bread" (from King Arthur Flour, as usual) that called for cardamom, I hoped it would produce something like the loaf we had last winter.

The dough didn't rise as much as most yeast doughs--I was a little worried that I had ruined it somehow--but in the end, it made a perfect loaf. I managed to devour it in about two days (which is why I don't usually let myself bake bread alone...)--plain slices, toast with butter, toast with apple butter... I plan on making it again over the holidays, hopefully when I'll have help eating it?


Cardamom Bread
-1/2 c. lukewarm milk
-1 package active dry yeast
-2 1/2 c. flour
-1 egg
-1/4 c. sugar
-3 T. softened butter
-3/4 t. slat
-1 t. crushed or ground cardamom
-melted butter
-cinnamon & sugar

1. Combine the milk, yeast, and 1/2 c. flour in a large bowl, and let stand for about 15 minutes, until bubbling and expanded.
2. Beat in egg, sugar, butter, salt, and cardamom.
3. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough forms and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 3-4 minutes. Allow it to rest while greasing a large bowl, and then knead for another 3-4 minutes. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, return it to the greased bowl and turn it over several times to coat it with oil. Cover and let rise from 1.5 to 2 hours.
5. Punch down the dough, turn it out again onto a floured surface, and knead briefly.
6. Divide the dough into three equal parts, and shape each into a long rope. Braid the ropes together.
7. Place the braid into a greased loaf pan (4.5"x8.5"), brush the top with melted butter, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover the pan and let it rise again for 1 hour.
8. Bake the loaf at 350* for 30 minutes. Turn the loaf out and cool completely on a rack.