Color the egg with regular Easter egg dye (don't use ordinary food coloring
that may run off the egg and discolor the loaf).
In a small bowl or cup, dissolve yeast in water. Whip with a metal whisk
or fork to hasten the action.
In a large mixing bowl, put sugar, butter and salt. Pour milk over it. Stir
until butter is soft and milk has cooled to lukewarm. Add cardamom. Blend in
1 cup flour with 25 strong strokes with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg (not
the colored one) and yeast. Add remaining flour, a half cup at a time, first
with the spoon and then by hand, until a rough ball is formed and the dough
pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Kneading: Turn the ball of dough onto a floured work surface, a countertop
or bread board, and knead with a rhythmic push-turn-fold motion. (If dough hook
on the mixer is used, knead for 6 minutes.) The dough will be well kneaded when
it is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.
First Rising: Place the ball of dough in a greased bowl; cover tightly with
plastic wrap and put in a warm draft-free place (80 to 85 degrees F) until it
has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours.
Second Rising: Turn back the plastic wrap, punch down the dough and replace
the cover; let rise until almost doubled again (about 1 hour).
Shaping: Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface, knead for
60 seconds or until the bubbles have been forced out of the risen dough. Divide
the dough into three equal parts. Cover them with a towel or wax paper and let
them rest for about 10 minutes.
Roll each part under the heel of the hands to form a strand about 16-inches
long, with slightly tapered ends. Line them up parallel on the greased baking
sheet and braid them loosely without stretching. Begin in the middle and work
toward either end. Pinch the strands together at the ends. Carefully fashion
a nest for the tinted egg under the strands in the middle of the loaf. (It is
important that the egg be tucked deep under the braids so it will not be pushed
out when the dough rises.)
Third Rising: Cover the braid with wax paper and return to the warm place
until it has almost doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Baking: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaf with milk and sprinkle
with sugar. Place in the oven for about 40 minutes. When the loaf is golden
brown and tapping the bottom crust yields a hard, hollow sound, the bread is
baked. If not, return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Midway in the
bake period, shift the loaf; turn it halfway around so it is exposed equally
to temperature variations in the oven.
Remove bread from the oven. A braided bread while hot from the oven is fragile,
so handle it carefully when removing to a metal cooling rack. It can be sliced
while still warm or served cold or toasted. Remove the egg before that part
of the bread is sliced.