32 fl Boiling water
7 oz Instant non-fat dried milk
4 tb Unsalted butter; melted
1 tb Salt
8 oz Sugar
2 tb Active dry yeast
1 Pinches sugar
4 fl Warm water
10 Dried cardamom pods
48 oz Unbleached all-purpose or
-bread flour
Rich egg glaze
1. In a very large bowl, combine the boiling water, dried milk, butter,
salt and sugar with a whisk. Stir and let stand at room temperature until
lukewarm, about 20 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, sprinkle. the yeast and pinch of sugar over the warm
water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Remove
the seeds from the cardamom pods and crush with a rolling pin on a piece of
waxed paper. Set aside.
3. Add 16oz/500g of the flour, cardamom seeds, and yeast mixture to the
milk and butter mixture. Beat hard with a whisk for 2 minutes, or until
smooth and creamy. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the remaining flour
2oz/60g at a time to form a soft, shaggy dough that clears the sides of the
bowl.
4. Turn Out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough
is smooth and resilient to the touch but not dry, 5 to 8 minutes, adding
the flour 1tbsp at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. Place the dough
in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with
plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk,
about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and divide into 4 equal
portions. Shape into rectangular loaves and place in four greased 9in x 5in
loaf pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again at room
temperature until 1in above the rim of the pans, about 40 minutes. Twenty
minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180?C/350?F/Gas Mark 4.
6. With a serrated knife, score the tops decoratively and brush with egg
glaze. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven until browned and hollow
sounding when tapped, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the pans
immediately to cool on racks.
Yields
1 servings