I know the recipe looks rather intimidating, but really, it's not that hard. The bread turns out fragrant and wonderful.

Cardamom is tricky. Once ground, the essential oil goes off fairly quickly. so the pre ground stuff is usually pretty nasty. It's one of my favorite spices, so I always have some on hand. Do you have a health food store near you? I know sometimes they carry cardamom pods. Flavor wise, it's so worth going to the extra effort.