1. Heat the milk almost to the boiling point either carefully in a microwave or on the stove. 

2. Pour into a mixing bowl for your mixer.
   

3. Add the honey and whisk until combined. Let cool until it is 110° -115° .
   

4. Whisk in 3 cups of flour and the 2 tablespoons of yeast. 
   

5. Beat with a whisk for approximately 50 strokes, just to aerate the sponge. 
   

6. Cover and let sit for 20 – 45 minutes. The sponge should be very bubbly.
   

7. Using a mixer add in 4 cups of the flour, the eggs, softened butter, coriander, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon and orange peel. Knead for 6 minutes; the dough should start to come together but still pool in the bottom of the bowl. Depending on the day, wither it is a dry day or a humid day you may need to add in the extra cup of flour or more if it’s still not barely coming together. 
   

8. Let rest again for 20 minutes
   

9. Add the salt and knead for 10 to 15 more minutes. The dough will start out still pooling in the bottom and seem sticky but it will knead into a ball cleaning the sides of the bowl and look very smooth and elastic. You should see bubbles under the surface, which means the gluten has been formed enough. 
   

10. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and clean the bowl. Lightly oil the bowl with about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or grease with some very soft butter. 
    

    

11. Knead the dough for a minute or so to gather it into a smooth round ball. 
    

12. Place the ball into the greased bowl and flip it over to coat the dough with oil. 
    

13. Cover the bowl and let rise for 45 minutes until the dough has more than doubled, almost tripled.
    

14. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 2 if making loaves or if you want to make one huge braided loaf divide the dough into 4 even pieces and follow the directions at the end of this recipe.
    

15. If making 2 loaves let the dough rest for 10 minutes and then shape the loaves into 2 rounded loaves big enough to fit into 2 buttered 5 x 9 loaf pans
    

16. Place into the pans and brush with the egg glaze. 
    

17. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
    

18. Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes until puffy and nearly doubled. 
    

19. Brush again with the egg glaze and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired. 
    

20. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until deeply golden brown or until the bread sounds hollow on the bottom. If you have an instant-read thermometer a great alternative is to bake until it has an internal temperature of 200°.  
    

21. Un-mold the bread and let cool right side up on a rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing.

For a braided round large loaf

1. To shape into a braided round loaf divide the dough into 4 even pieces.
   

   

2. Roll each piece into a 26-28 inch long strand. 
   

3. Place 2 of the strands next to each other horizontally on the work surface and 2 vertically. 
   

4. Weave the vertical strands over and under the horizontal strands. Make sure the strands are pushed up as close together as possible. You should have an “X” of strands with a woven center with 2 strands pointing in each direction.
   

   

5. You will be going around each direction to the four points. First, take the left of each pair and cross over to the right, towards the next pair of strands, leaving no space between the strands. Count that you have done all four pairs. 
   

   

6. Then going the opposite direction, take the right strand and cross over the left one pulling each around the loaf. 
   

   

7. Continue each pass to the left and right until you get to the end of the strands.
   

8. Pinch the ends of the strands to the finished loaf. Tuck the edge slightly under to help seal the ends.
   

   

9. Place on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 
   

10. Brush the large loaf all over with egg wash. 
    

11. Pre-heat the oven to 350°. 
    

12. Let rise for 35-45 minutes, until the loaf has nearly doubled. 
    

13. Brush again with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with the optional poppy seeds. 
    

    

14. Bake the loaf until deeply golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, or until it has an internal temperature of 200°.
    

15. Let cool completely on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes.