Back to my roots! I am mainly of English and Danish decent, but I have a great-grandmother who is Swedish. Every once in awhile it is fun to explore recipes from your past, ones that you can imagine your great grandmother making so long ago in her kitchen. This is in memory of Adela Olsson Seely (who probably didn’t bake a loaf like this then promptly eat a third of it for lunch like her great-granddaughter did!).
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pkt (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temp, beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2-3/4 cup raisins
Warm milk and butter to 110-120° and pour into bowl of mixer. Sprinkle dry yeast over milk and butter, sprinkle sugar over yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes for yeast to proof. Add egg and mix. Add flour, salt, cardamom, and raisins; knead. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Divide dough into three even pieces (no need to use flour while dividing and rolling dough, all the butter in it makes it easy to work with). Roll each piece into 20″ long rope, position three ropes next to each other on Silpat lined baking tray. Braid tightly, pinching ends together, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush braid with egg white and sprinkle with sugar crystals (optional) Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 200°. Cover with tent of foil during baking if necessary to prevent from over-browning.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Apricot Bars 
If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.
