Life member David Heppner has been baking bread for more than two decades. And for the past three years, he’s been playing with recipes and creating his own. “I love working in the kitchen, fooling around with and changing recipes to suit me,” he says. David added the cardamom on his second--and final--try of this one; it’s the perfect partner for the cranberries.

6 cups bread flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat gluten*
2 (1/4-oz.) pkg. rapid rise yeast
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 1/3 cups dried cranberries
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut up
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water

1. Generously grease 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans with shortening. In large bowl, stir together flour, dry milk, brown sugar, wheat gluten, yeast, cardamom, salt, raisins and cranberries.

2. Place water and butter in medium saucepan; heat over low heat until butter is melted and mixture reaches 120°F. to 130°F. Pour hot butter mixture into flour mixture. Using mixer with dough hook, mix at medium speed 5 to 7 minutes or until soft and smooth. (Or mix by hand until dough forms. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until soft and smooth, about 10 minutes.) Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Divide in half. Roll each half into 8-inch log; place in pans. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

4. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Lightly brush top of loaves with egg mixture. With sharp knife, make 3 to 4 slashes in tops of loaves. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and bottoms of loaves sound hollow when tapped.

TIP *Wheat gluten, also called vital wheat gluten, improves the texture of and promotes rising in hearty yeast breads. Look for it in the baking section of the grocery store or order it from www.kingarthurflour.com.

2 (16-slice) loaves

PER SLICE: 165 calories, 2 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 6 g protein, 31.5 g carbohydrate, 10 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 1.5 g fiber