Swedish Cardamom Bread - cooking recipe

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

Preparation

Grease a large bowl; set aside.
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.
Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick vegetable spray.
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.
Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
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.